 "Photo: Alan Tauber / The Daily Gamecock")
USC coach Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks are once again uncertain of who will be the starting quarterback come game day. After a frustrating 24-17 loss against a No. 15-ranked LSU team, Spurrier said the starting quarterback after this week's bye could be anybody.
"We don't know who our starter is right now," Spurrier said after Wednesday night's practice. "It's sort of up in the air."
Redshirt sophomore Stephen Garcia made his first career start against LSU after leading the team to a comeback victory over Kentucky the week before, he but will likely not make the start against the Tennessee Volunteers on the Saturday after next. This could be for numerous reasons, yet Spurrier did make it clear that he wasn't pleased with his young quarterback.
"We need to teach Stephen to throw it away every now and then instead of always trying to run out of there," Spurrier said. "His shoulder was sore today, so he didn't even go with the first group ... He acted like he didn't even want to play today, so we held him out."
As for redshirt sophomore quarterback Chris Smelley, he will likely see playing time but may not start.
"Smelley took some snaps with the first team today," Spurrier said. "But Chris and Stephen seem to do better coming off the bench, so maybe if someone else is the starter, they'll play better."
That leaves two other possibilities: redshirt junior Tommy Beecher and redshirt freshman Zac Brindise. For Beecher, Tennessee could be his first start since his opening night debacle in which he threw four interceptions. Since being pulled from that game, he has only thrown four passes.
"Tommy took some snaps today," Spurrier said. "Maybe we'll start him."
For Brindise, it would be his first time ever seeing the field.
"We might put Zac Brindise out there first," Spurrier said. "He took a few snaps with the first team."
And as for USC's running game, or lack there of, Spurrier does intend on handing the ball off more to mix things up. Who will be carrying the ball is also in question, with nearly all of the team's running backs not participating in Wednesday night's practice due to injury. Senior Mike Davis had fluid drained from his knee after it became swollen following the LSU game, but he will most likely be healthy for USC's game against Tennessee. Spurrier would like to get freshman Eric Baker playing time, but his fumbling may hinder that idea.
"We were hoping to get Eric Baker some carries, but he got in there and fumbled the ball, so that wasn't a good start," Spurrier said.
Spurrier also found Senior Bobby Wallace's performance unimpressive.
"Bobby only had one or two carries and nothing good happened, so we'll see what happens with that," Spurrier said.
Many things are in question for the South Carolina Gamecocks after last week's loss. Some players may be stepping on the field for their first time against Tennessee. But as one would expect, Coach Steve Spurrier is anything but happy after a loss.
"We may do a little extra conditioning tomorrow," Spurrier said.
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