Clarifying Chris Smelley's Role
posted by Scott Hood on Tuesday, October 09, 2007
As a young, fairly inexperienced and still learning QB, Smelley has been asked to do certain things for USC.
One of them is NOT to win football games, if you know what I mean.
Instead, his role is to protect the football, minimize turnovers and get the ball into the hands of his playmakers while throwing the ball downfield.
So far, he’s performed those tasks reasonably well.
Has he struggled at times? You bet. The third quarter of last Thursday’s victory over Kentucky was ugly, ugly, ugly. USC had three possessions and went three-and-out each time. Total yardage? Minus-15 yards. Ouch.
Somehow, USC managed to outscore Kentucky in the period, 7-3, thanks to a great play by the Gamecock defense that led to Eric Norwood scooping up a fumble and racing into the end zone from 53 yards out.
But, like a bolt of lightning, Smelley turned it around in the fourth quarter and led USC to a pair of touchdown drives. Each drive was in response to a score by the Wildcats that brought them to within eight points.
There’s no question Smelley has ignited USC’s passing game. If you watched the S.C. State game and the first half of the loss to LSU, you’d agree.
In a six-period span bridging the entire contest against the Div. I-AA Bulldogs and the opening 30 minutes against the talented Tigers, USC quarterbacks threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns with FIVE interceptions.
It’s that last number that gave Steve Spurrier indigestion.
It’s important to note Smelley didn’t take a single snap during that stretch.
By the time halftime of the LSU game rolled around, Steve Spurrier had seen enough and decided to go with Smelley.
Did Spurrier find joy in replacing a fifth-year senior with a redshirt freshman? No. But the name of the game is production, and if you don’t produce, you’ll be replaced.
It was a bit of a calculated risk on Spurrier’s part but when it comes to quarterbacks, the HBC doesn’t make knee-jerk reactions or act on a whim. There’s a basis for every decision.
Spurrier inserted Smelley into the lineup because he thought the freshman gave USC the best chance to win. That’s really the only standard Spurrier uses.
Over the last 10 quarters, with Smelley taking every snap, the USC offense has passed for 709 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions.
Better yet, Spurrier’s beloved vertical passing game has returned to the USC offense after a prolonged absence.
With Smelley making the throws, USC is averaging 14.8 yards per completion. Before Smelley? USC averaged 10.3 yards per completion.
To the uninitiated, an average of 4.5 yards per reception may not sound like much, but believe me it’s a lot.
Kenny McKinley has felt the effects of the change to Smelley. It’s no accident that two of his three most productive games this year in terms of receiving yardage have come in Smelley’s last two starts.
McKinley averaged 6.1 yards per receptions in the LSU and S.C. State games combined. In the victories over Mississippi State and Kentucky, he’s catching passes at a clip of 19.4 yards.
Not only is McKinley now getting the ball into his hands more, he’s getting it in places where he can make a play with his feet.
Bottom-line, here’s the only statistic that truly matters - Smelley is 3-0 as a starter.
For sure, Smelley has plenty to work on, as Spurrier was quick to remind folks after the Kentucky game. He throws off his back foot too much, has trouble throwing on the run, and needs to learn to audible if he wants to run Spurrier’s system properly.
But when he gets adequate protection from the offensive line and is able to plant his feet, he’s been highly productive.
With Smelley having three years of eligibility beyond this season and heralded recruit Stephen Garcia redshirting in 2007, the future of the QB position for the Gamecocks is extremely bright.
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Based on TIF posts I’ve read and e-mails I’ve received over the past couple of days, it appears some South Carolina fans have a misunderstanding regarding quarterback Chris Smelley’s role with the Gamecocks.
As a young, fairly inexperienced and still learning QB, Smelley has been asked to do certain things for USC.
One of them is NOT to win football games, if you know what I mean.
Instead, his role is to protect the football, minimize turnovers and get the ball into the hands of his playmakers while throwing the ball downfield.
So far, he’s performed those tasks reasonably well.
Has he struggled at times? You bet. The third quarter of last Thursday’s victory over Kentucky was ugly, ugly, ugly. USC had three possessions and went three-and-out each time. Total yardage? Minus-15 yards. Ouch.
Somehow, USC managed to outscore Kentucky in the period, 7-3, thanks to a great play by the Gamecock defense that led to Eric Norwood scooping up a fumble and racing into the end zone from 53 yards out.
But, like a bolt of lightning, Smelley turned it around in the fourth quarter and led USC to a pair of touchdown drives. Each drive was in response to a score by the Wildcats that brought them to within eight points.
There’s no question Smelley has ignited USC’s passing game. If you watched the S.C. State game and the first half of the loss to LSU, you’d agree.
In a six-period span bridging the entire contest against the Div. I-AA Bulldogs and the opening 30 minutes against the talented Tigers, USC quarterbacks threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns with FIVE interceptions.
It’s that last number that gave Steve Spurrier indigestion.
It’s important to note Smelley didn’t take a single snap during that stretch.
By the time halftime of the LSU game rolled around, Steve Spurrier had seen enough and decided to go with Smelley.
Did Spurrier find joy in replacing a fifth-year senior with a redshirt freshman? No. But the name of the game is production, and if you don’t produce, you’ll be replaced.
It was a bit of a calculated risk on Spurrier’s part but when it comes to quarterbacks, the HBC doesn’t make knee-jerk reactions or act on a whim. There’s a basis for every decision.
Spurrier inserted Smelley into the lineup because he thought the freshman gave USC the best chance to win. That’s really the only standard Spurrier uses.
Over the last 10 quarters, with Smelley taking every snap, the USC offense has passed for 709 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions.
Better yet, Spurrier’s beloved vertical passing game has returned to the USC offense after a prolonged absence.
With Smelley making the throws, USC is averaging 14.8 yards per completion. Before Smelley? USC averaged 10.3 yards per completion.
To the uninitiated, an average of 4.5 yards per reception may not sound like much, but believe me it’s a lot.
Kenny McKinley has felt the effects of the change to Smelley. It’s no accident that two of his three most productive games this year in terms of receiving yardage have come in Smelley’s last two starts.
McKinley averaged 6.1 yards per receptions in the LSU and S.C. State games combined. In the victories over Mississippi State and Kentucky, he’s catching passes at a clip of 19.4 yards.
Not only is McKinley now getting the ball into his hands more, he’s getting it in places where he can make a play with his feet.
Bottom-line, here’s the only statistic that truly matters - Smelley is 3-0 as a starter.
For sure, Smelley has plenty to work on, as Spurrier was quick to remind folks after the Kentucky game. He throws off his back foot too much, has trouble throwing on the run, and needs to learn to audible if he wants to run Spurrier’s system properly.
But when he gets adequate protection from the offensive line and is able to plant his feet, he’s been highly productive.
With Smelley having three years of eligibility beyond this season and heralded recruit Stephen Garcia redshirting in 2007, the future of the QB position for the Gamecocks is extremely bright.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.