Spurrier vs. Morris: Smoke Screen? SEC Power Index and Gar-SEE-Ya

Steve Spurrier’s weekly press conference is pretty mundane, usually. Yesterday was the exception! I always listen to Spurrier’s press conferences live, because SOS is one of the last lineages of coaches who is a straight shooter and never one to bite his tongue or bloviate without a point. Today was vintage Spurrier! As I listened on the radio, I could not believe my ears as to what unfolded down at Williams-Brice Stadium. A normal press conference begins with a brief overview from Spurrier about the upcoming USC opponent and then a Q&A session between the media (internet, print, radio & television). Spurrier was anything but ordinary today, as he immediately addressed one of the local reporters (Spurrier never acknowledged the reporter by name), Ron Morris employed by The State newspaper, and basically informed all media attending the press conference that as long as said reporter, Ron Morris, was present in the room that Spurrier was not going to answer questions that would provide Morris with more ammunition to demonize and misrepresent Spurrier’s football program at USC. I am not privy to the rift between Steve Spurrier and Ron Morris, but Morris fired a major volley at Spurrier back on March 27th when the Sports Columnist stated the following in his news article, “Next, Spurrier poached Horn’s program to get Ellington on the football field, where Ellington is likely to be a special-teams player. In allowing Ellington to play football, Horn stood by a promise made during the player’s recruiting. Not having Ellington with the team year-round is a crushing blow to Horn’s program, but hardly his fault.”

Here is a link to Morris’ column that drew the ire of USC Head Coach Steve Spurrier.
http://www.thestate.com/2011/03/27/1752773/time-for-usc-fans-to-support-horn.html

Now, this article was fodder for local sports talk radio for a few weeks as Darrin Horn’s basketball program was under major scrutiny following a second straight losing season, whispers of losing the leadership of his basketball program and mass personnel defections all culminated at the end of Horn’s third season in Columbia.

Now back to the present where Spurrier intentionally deviated from script yesterday at his press conference. Why the sudden brouhaha with Ron Morris at the outset of a key three-game road trip that takes the Gamecocks to Starkville, Knoxville and Fayetteville? I have a theory like every Gamecock or non-Gamecock fan about what transpired yesterday at Spurrier’s Press Conference. Was this melee between Spurrier and Morris a diversion for the even BIGGER BOMBSHELL that was to fall a few hours post-press conference? Everyone likes a good conspiracy theory, right? So with everyone scratching their heads about the odd exchange this afternoon, sometime shortly after two o’clock in the afternoon the other headline became public knowledge –USC had dismissed quarterback Stephen Garcia. According to reports, Garcia failed to meet terms of a written agreement between Garcia and the University. It has been reported by multiple media outlets that Garcia failed an alcohol test administered last week. So by mid-afternoon, the Columbia radio waves were ablaze with the Garcia dismissal and Spurrier versus Morris incident. Was the early event a diversion for the latter news to come? Or did Spurrier intentionally draw attention away from a football team that has a new field general and is heading out on the road in the rugged SEC? Gosh I love a good conspiracy! Brad Thor could not have written a better novel than what the characters in this saga might reveal next.

This morning, like most people, I was disappointed not to see a rebuttal by The State’s Ron Morris in the newspaper. The only quote I saw was in a story written by Gene Sapakoff of The Charleston Post and Courier where Morris declined comment other than to say, “I stand by my story.” Now the burden of proof shifts to Morris since Spurrier has called him out regarding his integrity as a journalist. I can only imagine that Ron Morris’ Editor and Publisher at the newspaper sat Mr. Morris down in a room and asked him to show the facts concerning the March 27th story to see if the Sports Columnist has his facts documented.

IMHO, I believe Steve Spurrier should have chosen a more tactful way to express his displeasure in dealing with Ron Morris’ story surrounding Bruce Ellington’s transition to football last spring. Spurrier is the Head Football Coach of the flagship university in the state of South Carolina and he, quite frankly, acted like an adolescent yesterday. I have no idea what steps were taken to smooth things over between Morris and Spurrier prior to yesterday, but I do know that once again USC has egg on its face with a Public Relations nightmare! I like an agitated Spurrier on the sidelines at USC, but I do not like a 66-year-old man acting like a thin-skinned teenager, who can’t handle scrutiny whether right or wrong. IMHO, he should have taken out an Op-Ed in The State newspaper and directed his annoyance with a particular columnist in that manner instead of high-jacking a press conference conducted by a state university subsidized by tax payer money.

I have had disagreements with Ron Morris’ critical articles of USC over the years. I have also had issues with the manner in which Steve Spurrier has directed his football program at USC. I still subscribe to The State newspaper, and I still support Steve Spurier at USC. Living in a Republic like we do here in the United States of America, there is freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. Ron Morris has the right to print his story, and Steve Spurrier has the right to defend his integrity. In this instance, Spurrier is to blame, IMHO, for the press conference fiasco, while Morris needs to provide the facts for the poaching allegation in the March 27th story. Spurrier is a media savvy coach and knows of more constructive ways to prove his opinion. He should have drawn up a better plan!

The Spurrier/Morris feud will not go away easily, as well as the Garcia dismissal, after being off the radar for more than six months. The media attention on this team grew exponentially after yesterday’s events, and if Carolina lays an egg in Starkville on Saturday, you’d better believe the media will be unrelenting in battering Spurrier and his program until season’s end.

SEC Power Index: Spurspective’s SEC Order
1. LSU---The Hat and his battle-tested Bayou Bengals take a trip to Rocky Top this weekend to face Tennessee! I believe former UT Defensive Coordinator John Chavis will have his Tigers’ Eyes on fresh meat Phil Simms 3.0 (backup QB).
2. Alabama---The Crimson Tide travel to The Grove this weekend for a Spring Game versus Ole Miss. BAMA is getting primed for its November 5th showdown with LSU.
3. Arkansas---The talent gap drops off considerably after LSU & BAMA, but somebody has to be third and Petrino’s high-powered offense did what USC could not do against Auburn last Saturday---score TDs!
4. Georgia---I know USC owns the head-to-head tie breaker with UGA, but the Bulldogs have clear sailing the rest of the SEC schedule, IMHO, while USC has tough match-ups at MSU & Arkansas.
5. South Carolina---The Connor Shaw era officially began with a bang last Saturday versus UK, as Garcia watched from the sidelines. Now Garcia will watch the Gamecocks from his sofa in Tampa!
6. Auburn---I look at this team and still wonder how they have won four games?
7. Mississippi State---The hangover from the early season loss to Auburn sure has lingered. Hopefully, MSU doesn’t find a remedy until Sunday!
8. Florida---The reformation project, also known as John Brantley, has not gone as planned. Charlie Weiss is a great teacher of quarterbacks, but even Weiss can’t spin Jacoby Brissett to UF faithful.
9. Tennessee---The Volunteers season went from bad to worse Saturday night when sophomore QB Tyler Bray suffered a broken thumb against Georgia. Bray is out six weeks, and UT’s offense will be out until 2012.
10. Vanderbilt---Kentucky & Ole Miss….enough said!
11. Ole Miss---“Houston, we have a problem!”
12. Kentucky---Big Blue Madness is this Friday!

Gar-SEE-YA

I am not going to get into the whole Stephen Garcia saga. I have no idea what might be wrong physically or mentally with the young man. I appreciate all his accomplishments at USC and wish him very well in his future endeavors. Garcia has had his ups & downs in life like all of us, and, unfortunately for him, his mistakes were magnified in the media. I believe Spurrier and Hyman did all they could for this young man, but some people are just selfish or do not want to grow up. Anyway, if you want to read about the timeline of Garcia, here is a good one by the DailyGamecock, the student newspaper at USC.

http://www.dailygamecock.com/sports/item/2463-timeline-stephen-garcias-career-at-south-carolina

My next blog will be Friday afternoon when I will provide my five keys to a South Carolina victory over Mississippi State on Saturday as well as my USC/MSU prediction.

Go Gamecocks!