Steve Spurrier still trying to build South Carolina into SEC champion

When Steve Spurrier took over at South Carolina, the big question was; When would he turn the Gamecocks into SEC champions? Five years in, and we are still waiting. So will he? "I knew the South Carolina job was not going to be an easy one to get to the top," Spurrier said recently at ESPN The Weekend. "We're sort of middle of the pack, maybe a little above middle of the pack-type team. We've had winning records, and we've qualified for a bowl game but we've not really competed for the SEC championship game yet."But we've got hopes. We've get some new players coming in, got a few different coaches and we need to coach a little bit better and some guys need to play a lot better than we've played. we've got hopes it's going to get better." He has some renewed reason for optimism going into 2010. The Gamecocks landed one of the best players in the country when five-star running back Marcus Lattimore decided to stay home and play for South Carolina. Spurrier listed him as a player who had an opportunity to compete immediately. The biggest question still is the quarterback position and Stephen Garcia. The junior came in with plenty of fanfare out of Tampa, with hopes pinned on him to be the man to turn around the Gamecocks. But he has not really been THE MAN. Garcia has been in and out of legal trouble, and was suspended for the last two spring practices last year. He was the only quarterback on the roster last season, so Spurrier had no choice but to stick with him. Garcia threw for 2,862 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions but had a bad game in the papajohns.com Bowl against Connecticut, throwing for 129 yards and an interception in the loss. Spurrier talked about how Garcia needs to play with consistency, but then brought up two incoming freshmen, Connor Shaw, and Dylan Thompson, "Stephen should be able to hold his starting position, but I think last year was the only year I've ever coached where I had one quarterback and no matter what he did he stayed in the game," Spurrier said. "I still believe if a guy goes bad, you'd like to have someone else to put in." Remember, Spring practice starts this Thursday...take heed Steve!

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