Richt gets big laugh out of Spurrier’s latest jab
Athens – South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was in midseason form when he talked to ESPN’s Chris Low in a wide-ranging spring practice interview this week in Columbia.
The barbs were flying for the Gamecocks’ outspoken coach, and both Georgia and defending national Alabama were zinged in the process.
Asked about having to play the Bulldogs in October now rather than in the second game of the season under the previous schedule, Spurrier couldn’t resist taking a shot.
“I don’t know, I sort of always liked playing them that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended,” Spurrier said.
Informed of Spurrier’s remarks after Georgia’s practice Thursday evening, coach Mark Richt just laughed.
“How ’bout that; I think that that’s funny,” Richt said after a hardy chuckle. “That sounds like Steve.”
What makes it particularly funny is Spurrier has been so lax on discipline. His previous quarterback Stephen Garcia was suspended five times under Spurrier’s watch but, interestingly, never missed a game until he was kicked off the team in the middle of this past season.
Spurrier even had a shot for Alabama’s Nick Saban. Asked what he thought about the job the Crimson Tide’s coach has done in Tuscaloosa, Spurrier compared him to Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari.
“He’s got a nice little gig going, a little bit like Calipari,” Spurrier told Low. “He tells his guys, ‘Hey, three years from now you’re going to be a first-round pick and go.’ If he wants to be the greatest coach or one of the greatest coaches in college football, to me he has to go somewhere besides Alabama and win, because they’ve always won at Alabama.”
Key players out for G-Day
Several key players are expected to miss Saturday’s annual spring game at Sanford Stadium.
Richt on Thursday said two-way star Malcolm Mitchell and true freshman tailback Keith Marshall were definitely going to sit out with hamstring injuries. Starting strong safety Shawn Williams is also out with what he called a minor knee injury and freshman quarterback Faton Bauta will also miss with a similar injury. Redshirt freshman ffensive linemen Zach DeBell (ankle) and Xzavier Ward (knee) will also sit out.
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410 comments Add your comment
Dave
April 13th, 2012
2:51 pm
Folks, don’t take Spurrier so seriously. He loves the one liners and stirring up reaction. He knows folks can- and will- point fingers back at him- and he doesn’t care. In fact, he likes it.
It’s like a buddy trash talking on the basketball court. He may or may not back it up – and doesn’t care. He just wants to stir the pot and have fun doing it.
LHarding Dawg
April 13th, 2012
2:51 pm
As usual, SS is right.
JB
April 13th, 2012
2:52 pm
I would admit that Spurrier is probably a little better coach than Richt………..But Richt is A LOT better man.
David S. UGA 64
April 13th, 2012
2:54 pm
Spurrier likes to make icy comments… but he does live in a glass house like the rest of us… frankly, if I were a high school kid looking for a place to go, I’d take Georgia and Richt long before I’d take S. Carolina and Spurrier…
To Tell the Truth
April 13th, 2012
2:54 pm
Spurrier OWNS GA!!!!
LMAO!!!!!
kingdaddy
April 13th, 2012
2:55 pm
Garcia was an embarrassment to S.C. football and you’re still making excuses for him. LOL….
BIGame
April 13th, 2012
3:02 pm
Pastor Richt laughs at the comment because he knows it’s the truth and he can’t deny it. UGA has had more arrests/suspensions this year than SCAR has had in the last 2-3 years.
UGA is going to keep getting all of the recruits but these Dream Teams aren’t getting better on the field. SCAR will again have a much better D and beat UGA. Make it 3 times in a row! Chumps.
Terry
April 13th, 2012
3:02 pm
LogicalUS, Let see how Lorenzo Ward does with the Defense, what’s funny, is that he was already the Defensive Coordinator, before Ellis Johnson was hired, so they made Ellis the Assistant Head Coach for Defense, if Lorenzo was that good as an DC, they would not have hired Ellis to begin with, you saw what happened when Coach Richt went with Willie Martinez, it turned a good Defense into a bad one, we will see come this fall how good a DC he is.
dawginduluth
April 13th, 2012
3:04 pm
Really sux when Richt puts you in a position of having to agree with Spurrier.
Mr Gayturd's Daddy
April 13th, 2012
3:04 pm
Spurrier hates UGA becasue they made him cry when he was their QB. Ruined his NC hopes and made cry like Tebow… He can’t get over it.
JB
April 13th, 2012
3:04 pm
BIGame……………..We have more because the University and The Athens Police dept are not in the “tank” for the football team, thus 18 year old’s get in trouble at college…… As they do at Bama and elsewhere, it’s just “canned” for internal handling at other “football” schools.
Eaassyy
April 13th, 2012
3:05 pm
GTBob, you talk out of both sides of your mouth. You constantly rationalize GT’s stingent academic standards and policies as the reason for your recruiting and overall performance woes. You then turn around and call out UGA fans for rationalizing our number of suspensions on unique and agressive drug policies.
AceDawg
April 13th, 2012
3:11 pm
Man – Bauta, Mitchell, and Marshall were three of the guys fans would most like to see. Cancel the game!
bham dawg
April 13th, 2012
3:11 pm
@BIGame… “SCAR will again have a much better D and beat UGA”… We put 42 on your D. Yall put 24 ill give you the 5 yd field after IC fumble. So really 17 pts given up by our D. Explain how yall were better.
MG
April 13th, 2012
3:22 pm
@ Terry – You are absolutely, 100% incorrect. Ellis hired Ward. Ellis was DC and once Ward came on board, EJ became Asst HC of in charge of defense while Ward worked under him as DC. The only thing funny is how dumb you look by making a completely inaccurate statement.
armydawgfan
April 13th, 2012
3:22 pm
I cared about who was coaching my team while in afghanistan. The dawgs were my source of relief, and heartbreak during the ‘09 season
MG
April 13th, 2012
3:25 pm
@bham dawg. USC won the game…which means they were better on that day.
Tony Montana
April 13th, 2012
3:25 pm
Man Steve Spurrier nailed it on the head. We’ll make this the third year in a row SC beat UGA. Man how will UGA gain respect in the ACC when they don’t even play Alabama, Arkansas, or LSU from the SEC West. UGA will get my respect when they schedule one of the three teams from the SEC West Conference. See ya in Columbia,SC..
kingdaddy
April 13th, 2012
3:26 pm
Spurrier just being Spurrier. No more, no less. We’ll settle it on the field …
Mako
April 13th, 2012
3:26 pm
Spurrier always runs off at the mouth when he thinks he’s gonna have a decent team……he’s just a Motor Mouth…notice how nice he is when he’s not sure of his team…ask him if Magnus is wearing a diaper to keep from getting arrested!!!!!!!!!!!
shankit
April 13th, 2012
3:28 pm
Spurrier, the evil genius? will never get over the six sacks
Stanfill put on him his senior year, kicking the Gators’ butts.
Cost them a NC>
Dumbo
April 13th, 2012
3:29 pm
Tony Montana….look at Motor Mouths age…..no wonder all the assistants are hitting the road
bham dawg
April 13th, 2012
3:29 pm
@MG… They did win and you can’t take that away. Spurrier himself after the game said they were out played by UGA and should not have won. And the defense definitely wasn’t better. which is what we are arguing about. thank you though
Freehawk
April 13th, 2012
3:37 pm
Spurrier needs ten more wins to be all time winningest coach at South Carolina.
KingGator
April 13th, 2012
3:40 pm
love him or hate him, he tells it like it is. That’s what I always admired about Spurrier was that he was right on the majority of time. It’s just that most people can’t handle the truth
bham dawg
April 13th, 2012
3:40 pm
@Freehawk… He will get it in 2013
JB
April 13th, 2012
3:43 pm
KingGator…………Spurrier lost me at suspending Garcia 5 times………..BUT NEVER SITTING HIM FOR IT. Winning is more important to Spurrier that what’s right…
Dawg Tired
April 13th, 2012
3:49 pm
Spurrier is a funny guy.
David
April 13th, 2012
3:52 pm
Like I always have said he is a classless piece of S@#$; too bad he can’t handle his own players.
MG
April 13th, 2012
4:03 pm
@bham dawg – The USC defense kept screwing themselves by scoring TDs and giving the offense the ball with a short field. They hung themselves out to dry by having to stay on the field longer than usual. By the way, how much scoring did UGA’s D do in that game? So to say the defense was ‘definitely’ better is simply an opinion. If UGA had actually outplayed USC, they would have won the game…it’s really a simple concept. UGA, whether on O or D, did not make the plays to win the game.
bham dawg
April 13th, 2012
4:04 pm
thata boy aaron
bham dawg
April 13th, 2012
4:07 pm
@MG… not according to the ole ball coach. “They outplayed us. We didn’t deserve to win that game”
MG
April 13th, 2012
4:18 pm
@bham dawg – for a guy that was questioning Spurrier’s ethics earlier, you sure are hanging on his every word now. Spurrier was simply complementing UGA on a hard fought game. It’s classic coach speak.
If you want to let someone else form your opinions for you that’s fine. But you will never hear me say USC outplayed UGA the year Andrew Pinnock fumbled the potential game-winning TD away with just seconds left at the goal line. Fact is UGA made more plays to win the game, thus outplaying USC.
BuckeyeInATruck
April 13th, 2012
4:21 pm
I just wanted to see what it looked like in print…………………
Sam
April 13th, 2012
4:21 pm
After observing his years at SC I’m not so sure Spurrier is the “genius” he was made out to be during the 90s, but you have to admit the guy is an all-time quote machine. He learned from the master – John McKay – during his one season as the quarterback in Tampa. In fact, Spurrier was the target of a McKay quip or two himself.
Richt handled it perfectly.
guy
April 13th, 2012
4:27 pm
Steve Spurrier has never liked UGA since George Patton and Bill Stanfill kept him on his rear end at the Ga.-Fl game. in 1966. It’s nice to have a little butt but no one cares for a smart butt.OH,LITTLE STEVIE!!!!! (Time to grow up emotionally) P.S. Butt was used because it’s a nicer way of saying the other word.
bham dawg
April 13th, 2012
4:29 pm
your are an idiot
Ruben Houston, Crittendon, and #37 Tarrant
April 13th, 2012
4:30 pm
We ARE the right stuff !! WE are Tech men. WE are cool like Rick James.
Don’t forget us, please.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAH,AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHA
GT ———– G un T oters
sheepdawg
April 13th, 2012
4:31 pm
spurrier owns athens
Ray Goof
April 13th, 2012
4:39 pm
UGA got the better of Spurrier in his senior year, that’s true. But I think he’s more than paid the dogs back in his years of coaching.
MG
April 13th, 2012
4:42 pm
@bham dawg “your are an idiot” –
I’m assuming that was directed my way. Since you’ve abandoned trying to engage in intelligent conversation and resorted to name calling, that leads me to believe you no longer have any valid counterpoints to my argument. By the way, if you’re going to call someone an idiot, at least make an effort to try not to look like an idiot yourself.
bucket
April 13th, 2012
4:43 pm
I’m guessing UGA gets 3 commits this weekend.
Dawg Doo
April 13th, 2012
4:51 pm
I’m guessing UGA gets three arrests this weekend.
Spurrier for Heisman
April 13th, 2012
5:00 pm
Spurrier is an idiot. First of all, he didnt have the grapes to suspend Garcia and his team is as lacking in discipline as he is at being able to fill out a pair of coaching shorts. NO GRAPES! Bama hasn’t always won. What is he talking about? Where has he been? He is just mad cause it’s hard to “cruit” kids to Columbia. Carolina kids a just like the kids he cruited at FL. Delinquents and pants on the ground. Spurrier is ready for the rocking chair. He should quit while he is behind.
Bob
April 13th, 2012
5:22 pm
The sad part is that SOS is correct…an even sadder part is Richt’s punishment continues to treat the symptom, but never addresses the root cause. Hence we’ll always have key players suspended for the first games as long as Richt is the head coach. One and done…an athletic scholarship is a gift, not a birthwright.
DawgInaTruck
April 13th, 2012
5:23 pm
If people are talking about you, it just means they care. It is one reason we have so much ‘company’ on here.
T Dog
April 13th, 2012
5:24 pm
Gator You are pretty ruffff on our blog Why not the convics blog we are going to beat the blue off of of you big bunch blue gums
Ghost
April 13th, 2012
5:35 pm
logicalus, South carolina is the most tradition-less team in the SEC.which team is coming off two losing seasons UGA had one losing season in 2010, in 2011 won the UGA won the East. I hope Lattimore comes back heralthy from his surgery, but usually takes more than 1 year especially with the severity of his injury.2011 was the 1st season under Spurrier that the chickens didn’t lose 5 or 6 games.
Badland Dawg
April 13th, 2012
5:42 pm
this is not funny spurrier just tell it like it is………we do have 2 or 3 or 4 out with suspensions every year this is not new for Ga..we have a bunch of dumb football guys that do dumb stuff thats all..we can never put our first 11 guys out there never..Nobody fears Ga….. our first 11 is over here over there over somewhere but never on the field at same time…..all the coachs knows this!!!!! This is not new..
Bulldawgman46
April 13th, 2012
5:44 pm
Well Spurrier back to his old antics. remember FSU ( Frees Shoes Univ ) Now that one I got to say was a good one. But I hope that he realizes that players will remember and it might pay back time
steve, Go DAwgs !!!!