No. 12 spot important for season hopes, Wooten aiming for kickoff specialist job
When asked about the scandal facing the Miami football program Saturday, Steve Spurrier hesitated, saying he "better not talk about."
But then, as South Carolina's coach usually does when asked about a sensitive subject, he talked about it.
Spurrier said he was not surprised by the recent Yahoo Sports expose detailing the claims of disgraced former Miami booster Nevin Shapiro.
Shapiro, a convicted felon and Ponzi scheme mastermind, told Yahoo he supplied money, cars, prostitutes, lodging, meals and jewelry, among other impermissible benefits, to Miami football and basketball players from 2002 to 2010. In addition, he provided Yahoo with thousands of documents, phone and financial records and photographs that corroborate his claims.
"It's not quite as shocking as some people (think)," said Spurrier, crediting Miami's proximity to a major metropolitan area as one of the reasons such a renegade booster could operate. "You always hear those rumors about things all over the place."
Spurrier said he feels bad for new Miami Athletics Director Shawn Eichorst, who was an associate athletics director at USC from 2004 to 2006, and first-year coach Al Golden and his staff. Despite having no involvement in the alleged allegations, those parties will likely face NCAA sanctions.
"It's unfortunate for the guys who are there, because they all do things the right way," Spurrier said.
The Miami issues have also reignited the debate over whether student-athletes, specifically those who play football, should be compensated for their role in what has become a multibillion-dollar industry.
Spurrier has been at the forefront of this discussion since proposing during the SEC summer meetings in Destin, Fla., that coaches give a portion of their salary as a stipend to players.
The proposal, which has been dismissed as unrealistic and unfeasible by many, is one Spurrier still feels should become a reality.
"The money from football is so tremendous from what it was 10, 20 years ago," Spurrier said. "That's why you have to do something else now. [The players] are making [the money] for us. Let's do a little extra (for them)."
Spurrier said the concept of playing players is rooted in basic logical capitalist theory.
"The producers of the world make a little bit more than the nonproducers of the world," he said. "If you sell insurance and you sell a whole bunch of insurance, bring in a lot of money, your commission is going to be higher than the guy that didn't sell anything."
No. 12 spot big for USC: Spurrier may not necessarily think his team is worthy at this point of being the 12th-ranked team in America, but he realizes the importance of Carolina's designation as the No. 12 team in the Associated Press preseason poll, which was released Saturday.
"It's important because a lot of times where you start, you've got a chance to finish (well)," Spurrier said.
The ranking is the highest USC has ever been in a preseason poll, and it lends credibility to what many think is a legitimate chance to contend for a national championship. If a team begins the year high enough in the polls and has an exceptional season, it should be able to systematically climb up the rankings and position itself for a berth in a BCS bowl game.
That being said, Spurrier added USC's membership in the Southeastern Conference, considered the best football league in the nation, likely means more than a poll in terms of setting the Gamecocks up down the road.
"Every SEC team has a chance (to finish high)," Spurrier said. "It doesn't matter if you're ranked or not."
Wooten fighting for kickoff job: Jay Wooten knows he is USC's placekicker. However, the transfer from North Carolina wants more. Wooten said he is hopeful to become the team's kickoff specialist as well.
"I don't think (special teams) coach (John) Butler had said anything, but hopefully I will (be the kickoff specialist)," Wooten said. "I hate to count [my] chickens before they hatch, but I'm kicking the ball well."
Butler has said the kickoff specialist will likely either be Wooten or freshman walk-on Landon Ard, who was a teammate of heralded freshman defensive end Jadeveon Clowney at South Pointe High in Rock Hill.
Next up: After a day off Sunday, the Gamecocks return to practice today. The team will begin at 7:30 at the Bluff Road practice fields. The session will be closed to the public.