Spurrier not concerned with Shaw's aggressive style 
In a matter of four days, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier had changed his tune.
After the offense tallied just 67 passing yards in the season opener against Vanderbilt, Spurrier was glum when discussing his offense during a Sunday teleconference.
“Sometimes we had time to throw and we took off running,” Spurrier said. “Sometimes we didn’t have time to throw and took off running. We only threw 14 passes and we must have called 30, but nothing much good was happening when we called a pass.”
But when it was time for Tuesday’s press conference, Spurrier said running the ball with quarterback Connor Shaw and tailback Marcus Lattimore for most of the game was part of the formula to win against the Commodores. Though Shaw’s legs are a strength, his arm has been questionable, especially with an ailing shoulder that could keep him out of Saturday’s starting lineup.
Spurrier said on his call-in show Thursday night that Shaw’s status is still up in the air and will be a game-time decision.
“As a coach I don’t think you ever put a player on the field that is in pain and is going to get hurt,” Spurrier said. “Last week he said, ‘I can play; I can go in there.’ Doctor says he can go play, and of course every time he fell on his back or on his shoulder — wherever — he got up in a little pain there, and you know, I don’t think anyone wants to see that.”
Because Shaw relies on his running ability so much, he can be an injury risk. When a quarterback moves out of the pocket, there are fewer restrictions on how he can be hit, but Spurrier said he encourages Shaw not to slide. Spurrier also didn’t think it was a dirty play in which Shaw was injured against the Commodores. Shaw had 92 rushing yards at Vanderbilt.
“Some people think you ought to slide feet first, but he did that against Nebraska and the guy speared him, hit him in the head,” Spurrier said. “I think the way he is running and getting down is the way you’re supposed to do it. Get all you can and get down. They generally don’t spear you on the ground. That could be a penalty. The other night, the guy’s knee, just as he was coming in, he sort of slowed down and he sort of kneed him. It just happened. When it happened, (I thought), ‘How in the world did he get hurt on that play?’ There was no smash or anything, but it just sort of happened.”
If Shaw is unable to play, Dylan Thompson is the first backup, though seniors Seth Strickland and Andrew Clifford would likely also see playing time if Thompson is ineffective. Spurrier said he’s been working on getting his confidence up in practice this week, where Shaw didn’t get many snaps because of the ailing shoulder.
As far as the rest of the team, the message has been that it doesn’t matter who the starting quarterback is.
“As an offensive line, we’re just going to block for whoever’s back there and try to give them as much time to complete the passes,” offensive lineman Cody Gibson said. “Connor fought really hard in the Vanderbilt game — he battled. He took the ball and ran it and took some shots, but no matter who’s back there, we’re going to do our best for them.”
The message for East Carolina is likely the same, as the run has become the main priority with or without Shaw. If Shaw is sidelined, Lattimore and Kenny Miles will see the majority of the snaps if the passing game can’t find a rhythm, and if Shaw plays, he’ll likely lean on his legs because he’ll be battling pain in his throwing shoulder.
Spurrier said he’s not worried about teams focusing on the run. If nothing’s broken, there’s nothing to fix.
“When we went 11-2 and [Shaw] won, as a quarterback, six or seven of those games he didn’t throw for a ton of yards in hardly any of them,” Spurrier said. “So, whether or not we’re going to start doing that, we’re going to wait and see. But he runs extremely well. He’s good runner with the ball. That’s a big part of our offense.”