Spurrier confident about Gamecocks' direction

COLUMBIA --- It takes a lot to humble the head ball coach. Steve Spurrier's first four seasons with South Carolina proved more than enough.

Spurrier was asked recently whether he'd heard critics calling for the national championship coach to change his philosophy, a query that in the past would've been quickly dismissed. Not this time.

"I'd say that's true, the way we've played lately," Spurrier responded.

It's hard to argue.

Spurrier came to South Carolina in November 2004 touting, "Why not us?" in a quest for a Southeastern Conference title. Things looked solid early on, with Spurrier and the Gamecocks posting landmark victories over Tennessee and Florida in his debut 2005 season.

A year later, the Gamecocks won at Clemson -- for only the second time this decade -- and Spurrier crowed it could be South Carolina's springboard to bigger success.

But since starting 2007 6-1 and rising to No. 6 in the country, the Gamecocks have gone 7-11. They were last in the SEC in rushing a year ago and finished the past two seasons with demoralizing losing streaks.

Even the stubborn Spurrier knew things had to change. He overhauled the coaching staff, adding five new assistants. He landed a group of recruits that could turn out to be the school's best class ever. And he's taken the blame for South Carolina's so-so performance the past four years.

"I've not done as good a job as I hoped to have done," he said.

Spurrier, 64, sees a bright side in South Carolina's struggles. Finally, he feels an attitude shift and sees the talent that could make the Gamecocks contenders.

"But we believe we're in the right direction, and we believe this group of players really wants to do well," he said.

Spurrier had harped each off-season about players who didn't give maximum effort or put the team first. That was never more evident than last season when some Gamecocks, Spurrier felt, began to look toward the NFL Draft late in the year. It led to blowout losses against Florida (56-6), Clemson (31-14) and, in the Outback Bowl, Iowa (31-10).

The tide started to turn in January when star linebacker Eric Norwood passed up the NFL to play his senior season. Then came Spurrier's hires, including new strength coach Craig Fitzgerald, who has revamped the conditioning program and gotten the Gamecocks jacked up to work out.

"There's a whole new vibe around here," said Norwood, whose 22 career sacks is four shy of the school record.

Spurrier is perhaps most impressed by his freshmen, a class led by January enrollees Stephon Gilmore, Jarvis Giles and DeVonte Holloman. Gilmore, the state of South Carolina's "Mr. Football" last fall, is likely to start at cornerback and play some quarterback in a wildcat-style package. Holloman, Gilmore's high school teammate, could start at safety.

Spurrier should have a focused Stephen Garcia at quarterback. The sophomore enrolled early, too, but he missed spring practice in 2007 and 2008 because of suspensions. He played in eight games last fall and never found the consistency to hold on to the job full time.

But after the two other quarterback starters from last year transferred, there's no one else on the roster who has thrown a college pass, so Garcia has control. He's also got a go-to-guy in quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus, who played for and coached with Spurrier at Florida. So far, Mangus has helped Garcia understand what it takes to succeed as an SEC quarterback on and off the field.

"It's literally everything," Garcia said. "It's the mental part of the game that he's really been helping me with."

Spurrier is ready to see the whole package come together.

"We certainly hope to win a conference championship around here the next three or four years," he said. "If our quarterback play and our offensive line play come around, we may be pretty decent this year."