The Dreaded E-Word Pops Up Again
posted by Scott Hood, Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Effort.
Coming in the wake of the offense’s struggles in the first full-team scrimmage, Spurrier’s comments invoked old ghosts. The offensive line appeared to be the target of his barbs this time with 26 ‘loafs,’ according to the count of position coach Eric Wolford.
Coaches rarely look beyond tomorrow when they speak publicly, so the fact Spurrier was willing to talk about the importance of the summer conditioning program when he met with the media late Tuesday night is evidence he’s concerned about it.
Unfortunately, it was no April Fool's joke.
Spurrier's words clearly put the burden on certain unspecified players to step up and get their act together, contending they had “to want it.”
I agree with Spurrier that most USC players fall into the category of “wanting it” – so the problem is not widespread - but there are still some guys who haven’t totally bought in yet to what Spurrier is selling.
Question is, who are these players? Spurrier knows, obviously, since he threatened once again to send out a “few” of those infamous letters over the summer warning players to shape up or ship out.
Why is this important? Spurrier believes USC has the coaching staff to take the next step up the SEC ladder and start competing seriously for the division title. Will the player follow?
Spurrier understands USC won’t become a legitimate contender for the SEC title unless everyone – coaches and players included – are on the same page. Right now, it appears that’s not the case even as he enters his fifth year with the program.
One quote from Spurrier hit the bullseye. He said the effort level “wasn’t bad” but “it’s not where we need to be” if USC intended to beat the SEC elite.
USC is simply not good enough to get by with less than 100 percent effort by all the players, especially on the road. Since the Gamecocks face road trips to N.C. State, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas this season (is that the most difficult road schedule in the nation?), the pressure is mounting to get things turned around.
There’s no question the physical talent is there. Some of it is extremely young (see running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers), but it’s evident watching the workouts that the players are in place to battle the big boys.
I’ve maintained for a long time that one of USC’s weaknesses has been a lack of solid senior leadership. That will probably be the case again in 2009. Guys line Eric Norwood, Moe Brown, Nathan Pepper and Anderson should be good leaders, but there’s simply not enough of them.
Wolford knows he has a major rebuilding job, both physically and psychologically, with USC’s current offensive line. Sure, there are players who have proven they should start – center Garrett Anderson is one – but most of the other jobs are up for grabs.
Wolford even said Tuesday night he’s trying to find a left tackle. Jarriel King started there last season but is trying to rebound from January heart surgery. So far, he’s struggling to regain his form.
But Wofford said one thing that made a lot of sense – he shouldn’t have to coach effort at this level. It’s sort of like running the 110 meter hurdles at the Olympics. You can’t win unless you get over the first hurdle.
In football, effort is the first hurdle. Without it, it doesn’t matter how talented the players are. Teams filled with players unwilling to give full effort simply won’t win.
From an offensive line perspective, Wolford has faced this situation before. He said he found the same problems at Illinois when he arrived there in 2007 that he’s discovered here.
The good news is he was able to turn around that situation quickly as the offensive line for the Fightin’ Illini turned into one of the Big Ten’s best. Can he do the same thing with USC’s offensive line?
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Considering the recent past, I guess the only shock was that it took nine spring practices before head coach Steve Spurrier uttered the e-word.
Effort.
Coming in the wake of the offense’s struggles in the first full-team scrimmage, Spurrier’s comments invoked old ghosts. The offensive line appeared to be the target of his barbs this time with 26 ‘loafs,’ according to the count of position coach Eric Wolford.
Coaches rarely look beyond tomorrow when they speak publicly, so the fact Spurrier was willing to talk about the importance of the summer conditioning program when he met with the media late Tuesday night is evidence he’s concerned about it.
Unfortunately, it was no April Fool's joke.
Spurrier's words clearly put the burden on certain unspecified players to step up and get their act together, contending they had “to want it.”
I agree with Spurrier that most USC players fall into the category of “wanting it” – so the problem is not widespread - but there are still some guys who haven’t totally bought in yet to what Spurrier is selling.
Question is, who are these players? Spurrier knows, obviously, since he threatened once again to send out a “few” of those infamous letters over the summer warning players to shape up or ship out.
Why is this important? Spurrier believes USC has the coaching staff to take the next step up the SEC ladder and start competing seriously for the division title. Will the player follow?
Spurrier understands USC won’t become a legitimate contender for the SEC title unless everyone – coaches and players included – are on the same page. Right now, it appears that’s not the case even as he enters his fifth year with the program.
One quote from Spurrier hit the bullseye. He said the effort level “wasn’t bad” but “it’s not where we need to be” if USC intended to beat the SEC elite.
USC is simply not good enough to get by with less than 100 percent effort by all the players, especially on the road. Since the Gamecocks face road trips to N.C. State, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas this season (is that the most difficult road schedule in the nation?), the pressure is mounting to get things turned around.
There’s no question the physical talent is there. Some of it is extremely young (see running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers), but it’s evident watching the workouts that the players are in place to battle the big boys.
I’ve maintained for a long time that one of USC’s weaknesses has been a lack of solid senior leadership. That will probably be the case again in 2009. Guys line Eric Norwood, Moe Brown, Nathan Pepper and Anderson should be good leaders, but there’s simply not enough of them.
Wolford knows he has a major rebuilding job, both physically and psychologically, with USC’s current offensive line. Sure, there are players who have proven they should start – center Garrett Anderson is one – but most of the other jobs are up for grabs.
Wolford even said Tuesday night he’s trying to find a left tackle. Jarriel King started there last season but is trying to rebound from January heart surgery. So far, he’s struggling to regain his form.
But Wofford said one thing that made a lot of sense – he shouldn’t have to coach effort at this level. It’s sort of like running the 110 meter hurdles at the Olympics. You can’t win unless you get over the first hurdle.
In football, effort is the first hurdle. Without it, it doesn’t matter how talented the players are. Teams filled with players unwilling to give full effort simply won’t win.
From an offensive line perspective, Wolford has faced this situation before. He said he found the same problems at Illinois when he arrived there in 2007 that he’s discovered here.
The good news is he was able to turn around that situation quickly as the offensive line for the Fightin’ Illini turned into one of the Big Ten’s best. Can he do the same thing with USC’s offensive line?
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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 @.