AIKEN --- South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier enjoyed a mild afternoon with a round of golf Tuesday at Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville. But by the time he reached the USC Aiken Convocation Center for an annual dinner with local Gamecock fans, Spurrier had turned his thoughts to winter.

"We've got a wonderful bunch of fans here at South Carolina, and we're trying our best to give them a big winter someday," he said. "We've had a little winter but not a big winter. And we need a big winter at South Carolina someday for all of us, especially these fans who've paid their dues over the years."

Speaking at the Savannah River Region of the Carolina Now Tour Event, Spurrier offered hope to the crowd of about 300 South Carolina fans in attendance. He explained changes in the 10-member coaching staff where six new faces joined the program. A strong showing in spring workouts was another point of emphasis.

All the changes come in hopes of avoiding what happened at the end of last season when the Gamecocks dropped their final three games.

"Our (offensive) line's got to play a whole bunch better, our quarterback's got to play a whole bunch better," said Spurrier, who guided the Gamecocks to a 7-6 record in 2008. "Our defense played well 10 games last year... We stumbled at the end, didn't play good third down defense, but anytime you've got a defense that's capable of leading the conference like we did last year (through the first 10 games), we should have a chance to win the conference."

Quarterback Stephen Garcia will lead the offense this year. He missed spring practice a year ago after off-the-field problems led to his suspension from the team. Spurrier said those problems have been put behind him.

"Hopefully, Stephen Garcia will make a very strong commitment to learn how to play the game this summer," Spurrier said. "He still is nowhere close to being the quarterback he is capable of becoming. We're hoping he will go to the practice field on his own and try to get better... We're believing that Stephen has turned the corner and is going to make a commitment to really be a good player."

South Carolina men's and women's basketball coaches Darrin Horn and Dawn Staley also attended the dinner and spoke to Gamecocks fans. Horn thanked the fans for providing the basketball teams with a better home court advantage last fall when the men went 16-3 at home.