Garcia, Shaw to share snaps in season opener versus ECU
The conclusion to South Carolina’s starting quarterback competition will come a bit later than expected.
After saying last week he would name either Stephen Garcia or Connor Shaw the starter early this week, Steve Spurrier kicked the can down the road in his Tuesday press conference. The decision will be made later this week at an as-of-yet undecided time, Spurrier said.
“If I said earlier in the week, it changed to later in the week,” he said. “It’ll be later in the week some time ... we may even announce it Friday sometime before we get on the bus (to Charlotte).”
Both Garcia and Shaw will play several series each in the first half, Spurrier said, and then the Gamecocks will go from there.
“It’s not that big a deal who plays first,” Spurrier said, adding Shaw has had a very good preseason and outplayed Garcia in the summer scrimmages, but Garcia had “a very good practice” Monday.
“They’ve both improved,” Spurrier said. “I really believe competing against each other has made both of them better.”
Garcia, a redshirt senior, has started 28 consecutive games starting with the 2009 Outback Bowl. He is coming off his best statistical season and is within reach of several school records. However, he did not play well down the stretch last fall in losses to Auburn in the SEC Championship Game and Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Spurrier said the decision to open the position up to competition was because of Garcia’s performance, not his litany of off-field issues and five career suspensions.
“It was based completely on the performance of Stephen maybe the last couple of games,” Spurrier said. “His performance was not good enough, in my opinion, for us to say ‘He’s our quarterback [in 2011].’
“We have forgiven [Stephen] of his transgressions. He’s a new person. He really is. He’s doing things differently. That’s all history. We’re starting fresh. It’s all based on performance from here on out.”
Quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus will have some say in who starts, Spurrier said, but the final decision will reside with Spurrier. The starter will be the player who is deemed to have had the best preseason.
“I believe [quarterback play] is going to be better this year,” Spurrier said. “I think these guys have really trained, got their minds sharp. They’re both ready to play a lot better, I think, than in the past.”
Clifford out after scooter injury: Fourth-string quarterback Andrew Clifford will miss two or three weeks after having an accident on his scooter, Spurrier said.
Clifford went out to get a pizza around 1:30 or 2 a.m. according to Spurrier. Once he picked it up, he tried to drive home while carrying the pizza, leaving only one hand to drive with -— a decision Spurrier called “not real smart.” He lost his balance and fell. Clifford hit his head on the ground and was knocked unconscious before a bystander got him to the hospital, Spurrier said.
Clifford suffered a concussion and has several stitches in his head. Spurrier said he is resting and should be OK.
Scooters are popular among student-athletes, especially football players, as a means of getting around campus and to and from practice. Spurrier said Clifford’s ordeal should be a teachable moment.
“Hopefully that was a lesson for all our guys that drive scooters,” Spurrier said.