The following is a interview with the South Carolina Gamecocks newest beat writer, Darryl Slater. He covers USC sports for Charleston’s Post & Courier.
Us here at LOHD have enjoyed reading his columns so we felt we need to dive into who this guy really is. He has some big shoes to fill in our pal Travis Haney but as evidenced by his work, he is doing a wonderful job and is a welcomed addition to Gamecock Nation.
Besides the paper, he can also be found on twitter at @DarrylSlater so make sure you go follow him after you read our interview….
1. So how is the new job going covering the Gamecocks for the Post & Courier? What made you jump at the chance to be the Gamecocks beat writer?
Things have gone well so far. Friday will mark one month on the job, and it was a whirlwind month, having to jump in during the middle of football season. But a great experience so far. I wanted to start in time to cover the Arkansas game, since that was such a big trip. And between that and everything USC accomplished in November (six SEC wins, 10 wins overall, beating Clemson), this has been quite the eventful introduction to covering the beat.
Why did I want this job? A couple reasons. I had covered Virginia Tech since 2007, and it was time to try something new. I wanted to cover a beat that people cared passionately about – both readers and the people who run the newspaper I was going to work for. Covering USC fulfilled both of those requirements.
Not that covering Virginia Tech didn’t. It was a big deal to the paper where I previously worked (the Richmond Times-Dispatch) and the Tech fans were most certainly a passionate group. But as I alluded to, I wanted to try something new, both personally and professionally. I had lived in Virginia ever since I graduated college in 2004. While I was on the Tech beat, I lived full-time in Blacksburg, which is a beautiful place, but it is very much a college town. I wanted to move somewhere where there was more to do for someone in his late 20s.
2. What has been the toughest adjustment with the new gig?
Probably just getting to know all the names and faces and ins and outs of the beat so quickly. You can do all the reading you want beforehand, but there are just some nuances of covering a team – the less-obvious storylines, who’s a good quote and who’s not – that you can’t grasp until you’re actually involved in the beat.
But it hasn’t been bad so far. From a beat writer’s standpoint, it’s helpful that Steve Spurrier lets his assistants speak with the media. It lets you get a better feel for what’s going on with the program, and lets you sort of develop relationships with those guys pretty quickly when you’re able to talk with them regularly. That’s a big plus for a new guy on the beat.
3. In your prior life, you covered the VT Hokies. So who is more fun to cover Frank Beamer or Steve Spurrier?
Well, I think covering both of them is fun, because covering college football itself is just fun. I mean, it’s not like this is accounting or something boring (or at least accounting would be boring to me). But Spurrier obviously says more quotable things than Beamer – or pretty much any college football head coach in America, for that matter. So that’s been an interesting adjustment.
But as I mentioned, no matter how much or little the head coach says, it’s always good when he makes his assistants available (as both Beamer and Spurrier do), because that just helps lend some more voices to stories. Spurrier is obviously a go-to quote when it comes to all things related to the offense, but Tech has a very quotable and candid offensive play caller in Mike O’Cain, the former North Carolina State head coach. So it all balances out.
4. Rumors were swirling a few weeks back about a Spurrier retirement. What are your thoughts on that subject?
Since I’ve been on the beat for only a month, it’s not like I have some kind of expert opinion on this, but he has obviously done a great job with USC’s program. Anybody can notice that – whether you’re covering the team or living in Virginia or wherever. Based on what he has said, he likes where things are going right now and wants to see this process through. So I don’t see why he wouldn’t want to stick around for a little while longer and do that.
How much longer remains to be seen. He has been using that “three or four more years” line for years now. Even he joked about how long he’s been trotting that one out. That said, he will be 67 next year, and he obviously has enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life. It’s not like he absolutely needs to continue coaching, at his age. But he still seems fairly spry for someone in his late 60s, and he has the program moving in the right direction. So if he still enjoys it (and he seems to), it makes sense for him to keep coaching.
5. Having seen a few Gamecocks games in person now and knowing what you know. Who is the offensive MVP and defensive MVP of 2011?
The offense didn’t have a banner year, but Connor Shaw has to be the MVP, if only for what he did in the Clemson game, which was such a historic win. Everyone has to remember that he is still a sophomore in his first year as a starter, so he was going to experience some hiccups. But Spurrier has to be encouraged by the progress Shaw showed in that Clemson game.
The defensive MVP? Hmmm. Melvin Ingram played his tail off this season, and was such a huge part of getting pressure on Tajh Boyd in the Clemson game. But I’ll go with Antonio Allen. Leading tackler, had eight and a half tackles for loss, three picks, four forced fumbles – the guy did it all for a defense that won a bunch of games for USC.
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Well there you have it from Mr. Slater. Hope you enjoyed it and hope you will continue to read his stuff as he is doing good things. Thanks to him for doing this interview.
