Shaw, Thompson answer questions about team, Spurrier
Gamecock quarterbacks Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson gave Capstone Scholars a glimpse of their personalities and encouragement to be leaders when they spoke at the semester’s final Capstone Conversation Monday afternoon.
“When you’re in a leadership position, you decide how you want people to remember you,” Thompson said. “I think that y’all have control of that right now. Just take every bit of advantage of every opportunity you have here. People can say things about you, put you down, whatever they want to do to you. But at the end of the day, you can control where you go.”
The two fielded questions from the audience, including whether they were afraid of head coach Steve Spurrier (no, as long as he’s not making fun of them, both said) and how they reacted to sophomore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney’s famous Outback Bowl hit on Michigan running back Vincent Smith.
“I thank God he’s on my team,” Shaw said.
One student asked how the quarterbacks felt about the Williams-Brice Stadium student section. Both Thompson and Shaw praised the atmosphere the students create at home games.
“When (the other team’s) offense is on the field, you just kind of sit back and relax and know their quarterback is going through hell,” Shaw said.
Looking to the upcoming season, Thompson said the team’s goal is to get to “the place we haven’t reached.” That place, Shaw said, is the SEC Championship in Atlanta and, from there, the BCS National Championship.
“We know for a fact we can be better,” Thompson said. “We’ve played really, really bad in a few games the past two seasons and still finished up 11-2. We know leadership is obviously a big deal, and you know that. And if we can get everyone writing on the same page, we’ve got a chance for a really big year.”