Nov. 18, 2014

Head Coach Steve Spurrier Press Conference Quotes

Opening Statement
South Alabama, the Jaguars are a very good team. They are 6-4. They made an 85-yard drive to beat Texas State and become bowl eligible. They are an active bunch of guys. This is one of the best teams from that conference. We really have to play well. They are active on defense. Their defense has played well all year and their offense is good. They have played several quarterbacks this year. Joey Jones is their head coach, played wide receiver at Alabama and they have an excellent coaching staff. Looking forward to it, a high noon game. Senior Day, last game for our seniors. Hopefully it will be a good game and a memorable game for our seniors, our team and the Gamecocks. We have a tough opponent.

On defense in the SEC
There are still a lot of good defenses out there. Alabama, Florida has an excellent defense. Georgia at times looks very good, they held Auburn to seven points the other night. The ball is moving around more than it used to. The spread offenses are probably a lot more difficult to defend than the old I-Formation teams. There are still a lot of good defenses out there. (I was) really proud of how our guys played last game. That was by far our best defensive game of the year. They hung in there all the way through the fourth quarter. We are really proud of the entire (team’s play last week), especially our defense played real well.

On improvement of defensive line last week
They didn’t get blocked. We had a lot of guys up there, got most our guys up to the line of scrimmage and challenged them to throw. They hung in there, held their ground and the linebackers played better than before. The secondary tackled better.

On South Alabama
When you see the tape of these guys, they are a good team. They can rush the passer. They have a couple of defensive ends that really come. They mix up their coverages, you don’t get the same team all the time. This is a well-coached team. We have to play well.

On senior class
Most of them were here the last three years. That was a pretty good impact. This year has been some heartbreaking losses as we know but we can’t do anything about it now but finish strong. That is what the challenge is for the entire team and especially for the seniors. Let’s finish strong, try our best to get bowl eligible and go from there. They have had wonderful careers.

On this week’s game
We are not good enough to think we can show up and roll over people. We have struggled a lot this year and we have to play our best to give ourselves a chance to win. Hopefully we can come to the ballpark ready to play.

On trying to become bowl eligible
It is always important to get bowl eligible. We are in position, we haven’t done it yet.

On this year’s senior class
Dylan (Thompson) has come a long way. A.J. Cann, we thought he was going to be a very good player. Corey Robinson has done a good job. Defensively, J.T. Surratt, Brison Williams, Golightly. Sharrod Golightly had a heck of a game last week. They have all done well.