I've often heard Boom is a great recruiter and the staff we now have is the best overall staff of recruiters we've ever had. But, so far it seems SOS was better. At least until he signed Clowney, and then he quit. Anyway, I recall hearing SOS say that his approach was to make SC the "cool school." I'm not sure exactly what Boom is doing, but it seems SOS's approach worked while he was employing it.
Did SOS have it right?
- Thread starter 4ever2thee
- Start date
Just Being SOS had a lot to do with it . Everybody wants to play for a legend . For all the hate he received on his departure , he is still the greatest thing that ever happened to this program . The truth is we may never have a three year run like that again . Never did before SOS and doubt we will for a long time after .
Having script Carolina on our helmets will never make us the cool school.
Have heard 4 stories/comments on SOS recently-
-Week of Alabama game Stephen Garcia commented SOS was as relaxed as he'd ever been. Said it was the most chill week of practice he ever had.
-Day of USC vs UF game 2010. Sean Elliot said he's pacing the hotel halls. SOS is out by the pool.
-Ellis Johnson said SOS could absorb film in 1 hour that it would take he and most other coaches 3 hours to digest
-Josh kendall said the first thing he noticed about SOS is that he remembered every play from his career
SOS was just a football genius that could see things, adjust to things, etc. better than almost anyone else who's ever done it. Not sure what's better
-Week of Alabama game Stephen Garcia commented SOS was as relaxed as he'd ever been. Said it was the most chill week of practice he ever had.
-Day of USC vs UF game 2010. Sean Elliot said he's pacing the hotel halls. SOS is out by the pool.
-Ellis Johnson said SOS could absorb film in 1 hour that it would take he and most other coaches 3 hours to digest
-Josh kendall said the first thing he noticed about SOS is that he remembered every play from his career
SOS was just a football genius that could see things, adjust to things, etc. better than almost anyone else who's ever done it. Not sure what's better
If you're going to make comparisons at least make them equitable. Spurrier was hired in 2005. His 2006 class was ranked 24th. He signed Marcus Lattimore in 2010 and Clowney in 2011 after he'd been coaching for 5 and 6 years. Muschamp's first class was ranked 26th, and his class last year was ranked 18th. He has only coached here for 3 years.
He's right about making South Carolina "cool." When you're surrounded by traditional bluebloods, many of whom have superior in-state recruiting turf, you have to set the program apart. Spurrier's presence alone helped accomplish that because he was a legend. Lately, Muschamp is trying to do something similar by transitioning to an up-tempo offense and having weekly uniform changes. Rather than being traditional, it may actually help a program like USC to be trendy. I've argued many times that USC should try to be the Oregon of the SEC. Combine that style of offense and trendy uniform design with things that already make USC unique like 2001, Sandstorm, the Cockaboose railroad, the unique stadium lighting towers that make it look like a spaceship, etc. That's how you sell the truly elite recruits on USC instead of Florida, FSU, Georgia, Clemson, Bama, etc.
Meanwhile, I'll concur with BobbyB1975 that Spurrier was the best thing to happen to the Gamecock program and he is often underappreciated on this forum. He elevated the program to a level it had never seen before. He posted three-straight 11-win/top ten season, beat Bama when they were ranked #1, notched numerous wins over Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee, beat Clemson 5 years in a row, and had a #1 NFL draft pick. And, unlike Holtz, the moment he realized it was going in the wrong direction, he stepped aside and let someone else take over.
People claim he "quit" recruiting long before he quit his job, but I don't buy it. His last 3 recruiting classes were ranked 19, 16, and 16. That's not bad at all. A lot of those guys just didn't pan out.
We also benefitted a lot when Clemson fired Tommy Bowden. Holloman and Gilmore were committed to go there. Looked like Alshon was going to Southern Cal. He gets fired. They open up and decide to commit to us. That helps us get Alshon. Which helped us get Lattimore. All of which helped us land Clowney. It sort of just worked out perfectly for us. Still, they had to get them after all of that.
I will say.. I don't think you should judge a coach on 'close call' losses versus ass whippings, but SOS did keep us in a lot of games we shouldn't have been in, even early on in his career.
He did take a few bad ass beatings (Auburn, Alabama in 2005 come to mind), but he kept us in some tight games with some eventual national champions and really good teams (Eventual SEC Champion UGA in 2005, #2 Auburn 2006, #4 and eventual National Champion Florida in 2006, #2 and eventual National Champion LSU in 2007, etc.).
Don't know what that means, if anything.. But we did seem to rise to the occasion and play beyond our means more often in his first few years than we have in the first few years of the Muschamp Era. Could argue SOS inherited a better situation with a deeper roster though.
He did take a few bad ass beatings (Auburn, Alabama in 2005 come to mind), but he kept us in some tight games with some eventual national champions and really good teams (Eventual SEC Champion UGA in 2005, #2 Auburn 2006, #4 and eventual National Champion Florida in 2006, #2 and eventual National Champion LSU in 2007, etc.).
Don't know what that means, if anything.. But we did seem to rise to the occasion and play beyond our means more often in his first few years than we have in the first few years of the Muschamp Era. Could argue SOS inherited a better situation with a deeper roster though.
Spurrier press conferences were always fun to listen to because you never know what he was going to say or who he'd talk trash about. Nobody can deny that Muschamp is about the most boring person to listen to. Unless you like typical coach speak without ANY details.
SOS: proven championship head coach
Muschamp: amateur head coach who was fired at Florida where he had all the built-in advantages.
I’m not saying we fire Muschamp because he very well may take us to the promise land, but Muschamp hasn’t done anything yet to deserve such high expectations like we had with SOS. We may have to experience a long road of growing pains before anything good comes under his watch.
Muschamp: amateur head coach who was fired at Florida where he had all the built-in advantages.
I’m not saying we fire Muschamp because he very well may take us to the promise land, but Muschamp hasn’t done anything yet to deserve such high expectations like we had with SOS. We may have to experience a long road of growing pains before anything good comes under his watch.
Dabo couldn’t beat SC or win the big game. He got over that hump and now they always play well in big games.
This is a hump Muschamp has to get over as a coach and it’ll probably eventually determine whether he’s viewed as good coach or bad coach in the future. Hopefully we eventually learn to play well in these big games and win some. But no doubt it’s hard to win them with less talent. And we’d are less talented than we wer under Spurrier winning games against teams that are less talented than they are now (Clemson and Ga).
This is a hump Muschamp has to get over as a coach and it’ll probably eventually determine whether he’s viewed as good coach or bad coach in the future. Hopefully we eventually learn to play well in these big games and win some. But no doubt it’s hard to win them with less talent. And we’d are less talented than we wer under Spurrier winning games against teams that are less talented than they are now (Clemson and Ga).
Who is this SOS people are talking about?.......
Oh, i get it now, that QUITTER who quit on his 18-22 year old players when he quit recruiting years earlier and left the team a dumpster fire.
That QUITTER who took his millions south and left young men who dedicated themselves to football wondering what happened.
Oh, i get it now, that QUITTER who quit on his 18-22 year old players when he quit recruiting years earlier and left the team a dumpster fire.
That QUITTER who took his millions south and left young men who dedicated themselves to football wondering what happened.
Golf clap back !! Not a first time poster . Been a member since 2009 but apparently the Mighty God Pharoh’s that mod this site felt my displeasure of getting our faces pounded in last week was to offensive for the sensitive sunshine pumpers ears . I can make fake accounts days ... but you’re welcome . The Man just tryin’ to keep me down .
Simple question .. How many Bowl Wins and 10 win seasons did this program have in the 100+ years of so called football before SOS took over ??
Also didn’t a lot of these kids that “Dedicated” themselves to football leave as juniors and Redshirt Sophs to be 5th and 6th round draft picks or undrafted free agents?? If we are looking for loyalty from anyone in college football you are looking in the wrong place .
I think people are going to dig their feet into this discussion regardless of what has been said.
At this point, you either love or hate SOS. I personally don't have a problem with either. It's about beating a dead horse with this discussion now. The focus should be on Muschamp and what he will or won't do with the Gamecocks.
It can go both ways. Spurrier was awesome here and did some amazing things. Spurrier also left the program in shambles from a personel standpoint, though facilities he had us moving in the right direction. It would’ve been nice to have sustained some success through the transition but we didn’t, and a lot of that was because he got lazy in his hiring of coaches, and then let them have too much responsibility.
I love Spurrier and I’m grateful for the awesome memories. I didn’t like how he left and he hurt us tremdously going forward. But I do appreciate that he admitted and apologized to Gamecock fans last year before he returned. We all make mistakes and get can complacent. His timing was just killer for our program.
Fact is, my horse wasn’t quite dead enough.
I love Spurrier and I’m grateful for the awesome memories. I didn’t like how he left and he hurt us tremdously going forward. But I do appreciate that he admitted and apologized to Gamecock fans last year before he returned. We all make mistakes and get can complacent. His timing was just killer for our program.
Fact is, my horse wasn’t quite dead enough.
Last edited:
I’m gonna say this and stop beating the dead horse .
How many times in Spurrier’s tenure did you see a half empty Williams Brice in the Fourth Quarter against Clemson and UGA ?? Just saying .
How many times in Spurrier’s tenure did you see a half empty Williams Brice in the Fourth Quarter against Clemson and UGA ?? Just saying .
Apples and oranges kind of.
When Spurrier started here, Saban had either just been hired or came the next year. He was really the first one to do recruiting like everyone is doing now. You know sending letters and cards to 8th and 9th graders two states away, having all those analysts watching film, treating recruiting like life and death.
Richt was a strong recruiter, but he wasn't going that far. Then Clemson started doing things the way Bama did.
Not sure if 2008/2009's relatively peppy Spurrier was our coach today he'd be able to sign the same kind of guys if they were coming out of our state. Recruiting in our neck of the woods has really amped up from even 8 or 9 years ago.
When Spurrier started here, Saban had either just been hired or came the next year. He was really the first one to do recruiting like everyone is doing now. You know sending letters and cards to 8th and 9th graders two states away, having all those analysts watching film, treating recruiting like life and death.
Richt was a strong recruiter, but he wasn't going that far. Then Clemson started doing things the way Bama did.
Not sure if 2008/2009's relatively peppy Spurrier was our coach today he'd be able to sign the same kind of guys if they were coming out of our state. Recruiting in our neck of the woods has really amped up from even 8 or 9 years ago.
It took Spurrier 5 years to hit that golden run of 2010-2013. About the same as it took Dabo, and it was looking very bleak for Dabo for a while. You have to be patient to get to that level. Constant overhaul and turmoil will never allow you to get there. Forget about who's down, who's up blah blah. This coach, that coach. Who cares?
That said- I always enjoyed listening to the old ball coach talk to the media. He made it so fun.
Muschamp is like watching paint dry LOL
That said- I always enjoyed listening to the old ball coach talk to the media. He made it so fun.
Muschamp is like watching paint dry LOL
Gee, go figure..new poster, stirs shit, and waits. Damn does Clemsux not have a board you all can congregate on?
Spurrier was a great game day coach. We had a 7-6 squad in 2009 and lost to eventual national champion Alabama on the road by only 14. We lost at home that year to a Florida team that finished ranked by only 10. However that same year we also lost to an unranked Tennessee and Arkansas by 18 and 17, respectively.
Let's be honest. What would Spurrier have accomplished here if he didn't land Marcus Lattimore, Conor Shaw and Jadeveon Clowney? Probably not all that much.
We need to give Muschamp time to recruit guys like that. He took over a team that went 3-9 and is having to overcome the stigma from his failure at Florida. Next year's class has a 5-star in Pickens, some other great players and Hilsinki looks like a superstar. Let's see if we can finish the season strong and keep that class together. I'm hopeful that is the type of class that is the start of something big.
Let's be honest. What would Spurrier have accomplished here if he didn't land Marcus Lattimore, Conor Shaw and Jadeveon Clowney? Probably not all that much.
We need to give Muschamp time to recruit guys like that. He took over a team that went 3-9 and is having to overcome the stigma from his failure at Florida. Next year's class has a 5-star in Pickens, some other great players and Hilsinki looks like a superstar. Let's see if we can finish the season strong and keep that class together. I'm hopeful that is the type of class that is the start of something big.
Of course, Steve Spurrier had it right - for him. The guy is a coaching legend. Obviously, he knew what worked for him. That doesn't mean Muschamp can't have a different path that works for him. I'm not sold on Muschamp yet, but I'm not ready to declare him a failure either. I'm willing to give him time to build us into a contender, but I think it's reasonable to expect to see signs this year that he is the guy who will eventually build us to that contender status. That would mean finally overcoming the offensive bugaboo that has plagued him his entire head-coaching career and/or beating a team who is probably better than us because he outcoached the other guy.
Those two thoughts aren't independent of each other. Spurrier attracted that top talent because those players saw that he was a coach who would maximize their skills and abilities. Good coaching generates a little winning, which generates a little better recruiting, which generates more winning, which generates even better recruiting, and so forth. But it all starts with a coach who kids think will give them a gameplan that lets them show their stuff.
Bama actually wanted to hire Spurrier away from us. Spurrier said no thanks and recommended they talk to Nick Saban.
Nothing to do with your post really...just an observation.
I remember this. I remember thinking there's no way he could turn down Alabama and stay in Columbia. Glad he did. Wish he had recommended they talk to Gene Chizik or Ron Zook or something though....
I recall LSU also contacted him. He basically said they had their chance to hire him before he went to Florida. He always had a way of sticking it to people exposing them for their bad decisions.
For his legendary status he sure signed a lot of dud QB’s here.
I don’t think many QBs wanted to play for Spurrier. I think his reputation was he was too hard on them and none had success in the NFL. Garcia by far his best QB recruit. I think he believed he could take a less talented guy and make him play the way he wanted to. But man, some of these guys didn’t belong on this level.
Those Georgia and Clemson teams were not playoff teams either except for the 2012 Georgia team.
The last game Spurrier had with Georgia as our coach was with a team that consisted of many players Muschamp inherited. Georgia put up 50+ points on Spurrier and made him quit soon after.
Muschamp beat Spurrier head to head with the best team he had at SC in 2012 by the score 44 to 11.
Imagine if he had a defense in 2014 with DT. That was the only year we got the real fun 'n' gun... without any real superstars on offense except maybe Mike Davis. That was one of the few years ever where I just knew we were going to move the ball. Shaw was exceptional, but not an exceptional passer.
That Auburn game was one of the most beautifully called games I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately couldn’t stop them either
Frankly, EJ was as important as Spurrier to our recruiting success....if not moreso.
Spurrier definitely inherited a better situation than Muschamp. That loss to Auburn in his first season was one of the most thorough beatings I've ever seen a South Carolina team get. And that's saying something. Not to mention him getting beat by Florida 56-6 and Clemson 31-14 in 2008. Not saying Muschamp is going to be better or worse than Spurrier, but so far, their first seasons have been comparable. Slight edge to Spurrier since he beat Clemson in 2006, but that was back before Clemson was elite.
Clemson and UGA weren't exactly the elite programs they are now back when Spurrier was competitive with them. And 2015 against Clemson, though competitive, doesn't count for SOS because he quit before then. And Georgia beat us 52-20 that season in a game that Spurrier actually did coach.
