Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks scrimmaged over the weekend, and the results weren't promising at the QB position. Neither had a particularly great scrimmage, with Connor Shaw struggling quite a bit. As Travis Haney reports,
Senior Stephen Garcia, in his first scrimmage action since his suspension last week, was 5 for 13 for 51 yards with a 26-yard touchdown strike to DeAngelo Smith in the back left corner of the end zone.
Backup Connor Shaw was often shaky in his decision-making, going 4 for 14 for 47 yards and an interception on a deep ball. He did make one nice throw on an out route to Lamar Scruggs, a 14-yard pickup as he was getting hit.
It probably won't surprise anyone that Spurrier was less than impressed:
As Spurrier heard Garcia and Shaw's stats, he repeated them and sort of rolled his eyes.
"I wish one of them would just hit them all and take his steps and throw it when he's supposed to," Spurrier said. "That doesn't happen. That's why we'll probably run the ball about 50 times a game, hopefully, with Marcus (Lattimore) and Kenny Miles and Eric Baker."
He had particularly harsh words for Shaw's tendency to look to run.
Garcia's struggles may owe somewhat to the fact that he's just now getting back in the swing of things after sitting out the first week of practice. Shaw, though, has had time to settle in, so a performance like this cannot be so easily excused. Unfortunately for those of us hoping he would be ready to push Garcia for a starting position, Shaw hardly looked ready for major game action in this scrimmage. He still has a ways to go, which has me thinking that it's unlikely that we'll see anyone other than Garcia in most important situations next year. As I've said before, I think that's a shame.
The good news out of spring practice so far? I've only heard positive reports about our defense, and Kenny Miles and Eric Baker have both looked solid backing up Marcus Lattimore. Baker's story is particularly noteworthy. Given up for dead last year after his struggles with injury, Baker now appears to be ready to make a contribution as a backup RB. I was impressed with his play in 2008, and we certainly need stability behind Lattimore in case of injury, so I'm glad to see he's coming back to full strength.