Shaw, a sophomore, replaces fifth-year senior quarterback Stephen Garcia, who has struggled this season. Spurrier said that barring injury, Shaw will play the entirety of USC's game against Kentucky on Saturday, with Garcia serving as the backup.
"It's his opportunity to go play," said Spurrier of Shaw. "We think he's ready."
Spurrier rarely speaks to the media on Monday nights, and offensive players are never made available on Mondays. So when Spurrier called reporters over after the conclusion of practice, with Shaw by his side, the expected change became official.
"I feel confident. I feel like I'm ready to play," Shaw said. "We'll see how it goes this Saturday."
Spurrier said that the decision to bench Garcia "wasn't that hard a call," as Garcia's poor play — he has completed 51.7 of his passes this season with nine interceptions and only four touchdown passes this season — had reached a breaking point.
"At some point, we've got to do something to shake up this offense," Spurrier said. "This is the first step, so we'll see how it goes."
Garcia was not made available to the media on Monday. Garcia took the decision well according to Spurrier.
"I think he sort of anticipated it," Spurrier said.
It isn't the first time Spurrier has given the starting nod to Shaw over Garcia. Shaw started the season opener against East Carolina on the merit of a strong preseason camp but was replaced by Garcia in the second quarter. Garcia played most of remainder of the game and then started the next four games.
Shaw struggled in limited action against the Pirates, going three-for-nine passing for 21 yards. Spurrier admitted Monday that there was somewhat of a loss in confidence in Shaw after his outing against ECU but that he has improved since then, having an "excellent" practice on Monday night.
"This is no 'first quarter, see how you do' like we did with the East Carolina game," Spurrier said. "This is [Shaw's] game. He's now our quarterback. That's what we've got to do to see if we can't get something going."
Shaw said he feels more prepared to play against Kentucky because of added experience over the past few weeks, he is excited to start and that the start is "an opportunity that I'm willing to take advantage of."
Despite Garcia's struggles of late and his tumultuous career at USC, he has often been a fan favorite, leading USC to some of the biggest wins in school history and its first-ever SEC Championship Game appearance last fall. Perhaps sensing this fact, Spurrier spoke out to the USC faithful briefly while announcing the decision.
"I just ask all the Gamecocks fans, let's give Connor your support the same way you have all the other players here," Spurrier said. "I think he's ready to play well."
