Spring practice is well underway at the University of South Carolina and much focus is on the Quarterback position at South Carolina leading up to the Fall 2010 march to SEC glory. Current and projected starting quarterback Stephen Garcia has a lot of weight on his shoulders going into the 2010 season. From being the most experienced SEC quarterback to having to be the leader of the 2010 Gamecocks. All eyes and success is on him but who is pushing him this year to be a better QB?
Last season, Garcia did not have the luxury of someone behind him pushing him to excel and maybe that was the reason for some of the lackluster performances in 2009. Gone is redshirt freshman Reid McCollum, who decided college football is something he no longer wants to pursue. Reid was the primary backup last season even though his few experiences were in “mop up” duty. Also just this week QB Aramis Hillary (6-1, 209, So.) decided to leave the USC football program after understanding that the likelihood of him playing in a starting role in the future was slim-to-none.
Enter, true freshman Connor Shaw from Georgia. Much praise has been given to Conner, even if he has only been through less than ten practices and one spring scrimmage. He has impressed Coach Spurrier and others with his passing, decision making and ability to run. He’s a natural fit for the modified read-option package that offensive line coach Shawn Elliott brought with him from Appalachian State. This means, he has been the “chosen one” to push Garcia in 2010.
Spurrier is known to have his quarterbacks on a short leash and he did not have this luxury in 2009, which I think irked him more than the actual play. Spurrier could not pull Garcia out for a dumb mistake and teach him a lesson, which is more his style of coaching. Now it seems he has this option and is determined to use it if necessary this upcoming season to demand near perfect play out of the QB position.
In the first spring scrimmage, Shaw was 8-for-13 for 110 yards, with a 25-yard touchdown to WR Dion LeCorn. Later in the day, WR D.L. Moore dropped what would’ve been a 30-yard touchdown from Shaw. Stephen Garcia was 6-for-15 for 88 yards, 1 INT and a touchdown this past Saturday. So not much to look at with those similar numbers.
In reality, Spurrier doesn’t want Shaw to play as a freshman. He’d rather Garcia, a fourth-year junior, be the man under center.
But he wants Garcia to know he’s got company for the spot.
Let’s take a quick look at the quarterback position and its’ depth at USC:
5 Stephen Garcia (6-2, 230, Jr.)
Junior signal-caller who has started each of the last 14 games for the Gamecocks and is the SEC active leader in career total yards (4,078) and passing yards (3,694). Garcia threw for 2,862 yards and 17 TDs (10 interceptions) last season in his first year as the unquestioned starter.
14 Connor Shaw (6-0, 199, Fr.-HS)
Connor is a dual-threat QB who threw for 3,100 yards and 30 TDs with just six interceptions as a senior at Flowery Branch (Ga.) High School, also rushed for 800 yards and 17 scores. Shaw — the brother of a college quarterback (Georgia Southern’s Jaybo) and son of a high school football coach — enters the scene with the much hype. As discussed earlier, figures to be the one to push Garcia and be the #2. Biggest question for him is will he get a redshirt in 2010 or will he push Garcia so much that he gets actual playing time not just mop up duty. Spurrier does not want to waste this kids’ talent on playing the last two minutes of a game.
17 Zac Brindise (6-1, 205, Jr.)
Junior quarterback who was rewarded with a scholarship prior to the start of the 2009 season and is the brother of former Florida quarterback Noah Brindise, who also played under Head Coach Steve Spurrier. Has not seen any real game experience and mostly been working with the scout team. Graduated from South Fort Myers (Fla.) High School, threw for 1,553 yards as a senior with 17 touchdowns.
12 Andrew Clifford (6-2, 225, Fr.-RS)
Redshirted last season and will compete for the backup role but it seems to be more of Connor’s job. This kid has talent as he passed for over 3,700 yards and 30 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Wharton HS in Tampa.
8 Seth Strickland (6-2, 192, So)
Seth is a walk-on who is joined the team in 2009. Serves mostly as the scout team quarterback and does not really factor in QB plans for 2010.
As said earlier, the job is Garcia’s but as you can see plenty of men behind him that are dreaming of performing in front of 80,000+ on Saturday’s in the fall. The fan favorite is always the back-up quarterback and everyone loves to talk about the “what if’s” so it seems at USC there will be plenty to talk about at the quarterback position this year.
