The Daily Gamecock

Notebook: Spurrier encourages fans to be nice to Lee Corso

UGA wins help recruiting; right tackle Matulis misses practice

 

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier opened his Tuesday press conference by encouraging Gamecock fans to show hospitality to an unlikely party Saturday.

“It should be a huge crowd,” Spurrier said. “I know our fans are fired up. I encourage our fans to be nice to Lee Corso ... I really believe Lee Corso likes us a lot — likes South Carolina a lot. Hopefully our fans will not boo him. He is a good guy. He really is.”

Corso, a former college and USFL football coach, is a college football analyst for ESPN and has been featured on ESPN’s College GameDay since its inception. ESPN announced the popular show would be on South Carolina’s campus Saturday for the SEC East matchup between the No. 6 Gamecocks and No. 5 Georgia. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

While the game has major implications for the division race, as both teams are undefeated, Spurrier pointed out USC won the game in Georgia last year, but still finished second in the division to the Bulldogs.

“This isn’t the end of the year, no matter what happens, win, lose or draw,” Spurrier said. “Obviously it’s crucial, though. It’s a crucial game within the division. And we’re really just going one game at a time. Just noticing all those other teams are undefeated too, but this is a stretch. It’s all about Georgia and trying to beat those guys. And when this one’s over, we’ll focus in on the next team and so forth.”

After Georgia, the Gamecocks will have to play at No. 4 LSU the following week. ESPN announced kickoff for that game will be 8 p.m. The week after, USC will be on the road again at No. 10 Florida.

“We have a lot of big games coming up,” Spurrier said. “If you’re fortunate to keep winning, they all get bigger and bigger. Obviously this is a big one for us ... It is a big game but, hopefully we will have bigger ones as we go through the year.”

Injury update: Spurrier said the team is healthy, though right tackle Mike Matulis did not practice Monday night because of his injured shoulder. 

Spurrier said the offensive line hasn’t hit its peak yet.

“You’re always hoping your line plays better and plays their assignments better, and we’re still not as good as we should be, as far as assignments — guys going the wrong ways, so hopefully we can get our assignments a lot better,” Spurrier said. “These guys are big, strong guys. They should be able to play very well.”

Recruiting: With more of the Gamecocks’ true freshman class coming from Georgia than any other state, Spurrier said wins against UGA help, but being a top program is more important.

“There is going to be a winner and a loser, but if you’re not competitive year in and year out, ‘Man, those guys can’t ever beat them,’” Spurrier said. “But, if you’re in the ballgame with a big rival, I think recruiting players are going to go where they are most comfortable or have the opportunity to play right away ... But you’ve got to be competitive.”


Comments