[Videos] Spurrier, players at SEC media days | GoGamecocks. I'm still a little miffed that Spurrier brought Shaq Wilson to Media Days instead of Stephen Garcia. That, more than anything he said about Garcia, seems like a vote of no-confidence to me. This isn't to say I don't like Shaq; I think he's ready for a big year. I just kind of thought Garcia would be given the keys to a leadership role this year. The other two choices--Patrick DiMarco and Cliff Matthews--did make sense to me. DiMarco has long been considered a team leader and Matthews is the team's defensive star.
Some highlights from the interviews:
-Spurrier jabs at Jevan Snead.
-Spurrier says one of his keys to longevity is that his interest in golf gives him a release valve. Urban, take notes.
-Spurrier says that the most important thing for Garcia is that he learn to avoid sacks. He points to sacks as what have killed our running game. No mystery here: sacks both equal negative rushing yards and create long-yardage situations in which you usually choose to throw the ball.
-Matthews has gained more weight--he's up to 270 after entering college at 230. This guy is ready for the NFL, methinks.
-Matthews talked a lot about the level of participation during summer workouts and how the team has put down a new level of commitment.
-Matthews seemed really nervous up there. He lost his train of thought a couple of times. It was kind of endearing.
-When asked if he was going to match Eric Norwood, Shaq said, "I can't be Eric Norwood. I'm Shaq Wilson." I liked that. This guy seems ready to go.
-DiMarco seemed like the most poised of the trio. You can see why he takes well to the leadership role.
-DiMarco thinks the running game will be better with Shawn Elliott's input. He also praised Marcus Lattimore.
-All the players mentioned in response to promptings by the reporters that they want to get a taste of what the baseball team enjoyed. Nice.
Same Old Spurrier? Not the Same. And Probably Not Too Old. - Team Speed Kills. You have to agree that Spurrier sounds a little bedraggled.
Team supports Saunders | GoGamecocks. This is good, but I'm still pretty suspicious. As someone said to me recently, college students don't typically have the money to party in South Beach.
Spurrier optimistic at SEC Media Days | GoGamecocks
DiMarco praises Lattimore | GoGamecocks. I'm beginning to think more and more that we're going to see Lattimore early. The guy is good and he's gotten out there as early as possible to get ready for the season. With Alshon Jeffery last year, Jeffery got out there late and didn't start contributing very much until the middle of the season. I don't think that's going to be the case for Lattimore.