The Transformation of Steve Spurrier
posted by Scott Hood, Wednesday, November 07, 2007
In the heyday of the Fun-‘n-Gun in the mid to late 1990’s, Spurrier had quarterbacks named Danny Wuerffel, Rex Grossman and Doug Johnson. All of them were drop-back quarterbacks that weren’t expected to run with the football very often.
But times have changed.
Defenses are more aggressive, more complex and more diverse than they were 10 to 15 years ago. Defenders fly at the quarterback from all directions with a potpourri of blitzes designed to put loads of pressure on the quarterback.
Spurrier acknowledges today’s defenses are far more sophisticated than they were when he started at Florida in 1990. That’s one reason his well-known offense was so successful - and radical – for the time.
With a mediocre offensive line, Spurrier now realizes it’s much more difficult to win with a straight drop-back quarterback in the modern world of college football.
Several times this season, he’s bemoaned the lack of mobility by USC’s quarterbacks. Syvelle Newton proved the value of a quarterback with quick feet last season, and convinced Spurrier that’s the direction he needs to go if he wants the USC offense to score enough points.
Here’s the key statistic to show Newton’s value to the Gamecocks last season: USC converted 47.7 percent of third down opportunities last season. This year, the Gamecocks’ success rate on third down has tumbled to 36.5 percent.
I can assure you Spurrier is well aware of that statistic. He also knows the major difference between last year and this year is Newton.
Without question, mobility and quick feet are now the key ingredients for a quarterback to survive. That’s why he recruited Stephen Garcia last year and Aramis Hillary this year.
USC fans will get a good look at the “quarterback of the future” – Spurrier’s description - this weekend when southpaw Tim Tebow leads the Florida Gators into Columbia for a showdown with the Gamecocks.
Tebow has carried the ball 144 times this season, an average of 16 times per game, for a team-leading 598 yards. The second-leading rusher for the Gators (K. Moore) has rushed just 87 times.
As a matter of comparison, USC’s Cory Boyd has also rushed 144 times, but in one more game (USC has played 10 games, Florida nine).
Despite his well-deserved reputation as a bruising runner, the 6-foot-3 Tebow throws the ball fairly accurately too. He’s completed nearly 68 percent of his passes this season for 2,228 yards.
Spurrier applauded Tebow’s ability to hit open receivers during his Tuesday press conference, a creative way to criticize his own QB’s without making it sound like that’s what he was doing.
Tebow is, in the eyes of Spurrier, the perfect quarterback machine. He keeps defenses off-balance because they don’t know what he’s going to do.
Urban Meyer is no dummy. He knows Tebow’s ability to run with the football will keep most linebackers home. So, before he drops back to pass, he takes a jab step toward the line to make it appear like he’s going to run. That freezes the linebackers and allows the receivers a little more room to run freely.
You can bet Spurrier is hoping Stephen Garcia can do the same things for South Carolina next season. Chris Smelley has a little mobility, and Tommy Beecher a little more, but Garcia can run and throw with impressive effectiveness.
He’s got a strong arm and strong legs, the two things you need the most to play quarterback these days.
Garcia threw for over 8,000 yards in his high school career. He also ran for 1,345 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Garcia showed off some of his versatile skills in fall camp prior to the start of the season. We’ll see them again next spring.
And, quite possibly, next fall when the 2008 season begins.
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If you’ve been paying attention, you know Steve Spurrier has been undergoing a steady transformation when it comes to quarterbacks.
In the heyday of the Fun-‘n-Gun in the mid to late 1990’s, Spurrier had quarterbacks named Danny Wuerffel, Rex Grossman and Doug Johnson. All of them were drop-back quarterbacks that weren’t expected to run with the football very often.
But times have changed.
Defenses are more aggressive, more complex and more diverse than they were 10 to 15 years ago. Defenders fly at the quarterback from all directions with a potpourri of blitzes designed to put loads of pressure on the quarterback.
Spurrier acknowledges today’s defenses are far more sophisticated than they were when he started at Florida in 1990. That’s one reason his well-known offense was so successful - and radical – for the time.
With a mediocre offensive line, Spurrier now realizes it’s much more difficult to win with a straight drop-back quarterback in the modern world of college football.
Several times this season, he’s bemoaned the lack of mobility by USC’s quarterbacks. Syvelle Newton proved the value of a quarterback with quick feet last season, and convinced Spurrier that’s the direction he needs to go if he wants the USC offense to score enough points.
Here’s the key statistic to show Newton’s value to the Gamecocks last season: USC converted 47.7 percent of third down opportunities last season. This year, the Gamecocks’ success rate on third down has tumbled to 36.5 percent.
I can assure you Spurrier is well aware of that statistic. He also knows the major difference between last year and this year is Newton.
Without question, mobility and quick feet are now the key ingredients for a quarterback to survive. That’s why he recruited Stephen Garcia last year and Aramis Hillary this year.
USC fans will get a good look at the “quarterback of the future” – Spurrier’s description - this weekend when southpaw Tim Tebow leads the Florida Gators into Columbia for a showdown with the Gamecocks.
Tebow has carried the ball 144 times this season, an average of 16 times per game, for a team-leading 598 yards. The second-leading rusher for the Gators (K. Moore) has rushed just 87 times.
As a matter of comparison, USC’s Cory Boyd has also rushed 144 times, but in one more game (USC has played 10 games, Florida nine).
Despite his well-deserved reputation as a bruising runner, the 6-foot-3 Tebow throws the ball fairly accurately too. He’s completed nearly 68 percent of his passes this season for 2,228 yards.
Spurrier applauded Tebow’s ability to hit open receivers during his Tuesday press conference, a creative way to criticize his own QB’s without making it sound like that’s what he was doing.
Tebow is, in the eyes of Spurrier, the perfect quarterback machine. He keeps defenses off-balance because they don’t know what he’s going to do.
Urban Meyer is no dummy. He knows Tebow’s ability to run with the football will keep most linebackers home. So, before he drops back to pass, he takes a jab step toward the line to make it appear like he’s going to run. That freezes the linebackers and allows the receivers a little more room to run freely.
You can bet Spurrier is hoping Stephen Garcia can do the same things for South Carolina next season. Chris Smelley has a little mobility, and Tommy Beecher a little more, but Garcia can run and throw with impressive effectiveness.
He’s got a strong arm and strong legs, the two things you need the most to play quarterback these days.
Garcia threw for over 8,000 yards in his high school career. He also ran for 1,345 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Garcia showed off some of his versatile skills in fall camp prior to the start of the season. We’ll see them again next spring.
And, quite possibly, next fall when the 2008 season begins.
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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 @.