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.

410 comments Add your comment

DawgFan100

April 13th, 2012
5:49 pm

I just hope UGA will have enough players to field a team come September, with all the suspensions going on…thank goodness Mark Richt didn’t wreck a motorcycle riding a hot looking blonde around or we would be in trouble…

ROTFLMAO!!!

April 13th, 2012
5:51 pm

Good way to bring some laughs out in spring pratice.

Al

April 13th, 2012
6:07 pm

Yeah chip one player for sc versus how many for uga? A dozen. Give me a break

Bleed Red and Balck

April 13th, 2012
6:07 pm

Looks like to me he is scared to play us with a full roster. LOL! Typical ole man full of hot air! Yes you won our game BUT we won the EAST!! Take that and please keep your shirt on! Yuck!

Bad Dawg, Bad Dawg

April 13th, 2012
6:10 pm

Fact is that UGA football is an embarrassment. Richt has been in Athens for 11 years and can’t produce a national championship. Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Florida and now South Carolina are the teams in the SEC. It’s really sad. Take Alabama off the schedule to lighten it up and throw in a little hope.

L.A. BULLDAWG

April 13th, 2012
6:20 pm

THE TRUTH HURTS, DOESN’T IT? UGA, AGAIN HAS NUMEROUS SUSPENSIONS!

TampaGator

April 13th, 2012
6:28 pm

If Georgia has a few players out for the spring game…..then Spurrier should schedule an exhibition spring game between Georgia and South Carolina, right? But guys, I don’t think it really matters when Spurrier’s team plays Georgia……he just beats Georgia, whenever and whenever….over the years. And he likes rubbing that fact into Dawg bowls.

Piney Woods Pete

April 13th, 2012
6:30 pm

Columbia, SC is a dump

Compared to Athens, GA, Columbia is a cultural and educational mecca. Athens is one of the sleaziest places in the country, with absolutely no redeeming qualities.

TampaGator

April 13th, 2012
6:31 pm

Steve just likes to have fun!

LakeDawg

April 13th, 2012
6:35 pm

I love it! Spurrier is back to his old smart-aleck ways. He’s feeling his oats LOL. It will make it even sweeter when he gets his come-uppance this year.

You're paying that Bozo Richt how much money a year???

April 13th, 2012
6:37 pm

Facts don’t lie. Four different SEC teams have won the last six national championships, and Georgia was not one of those teams. And they will never play in a championship game while Mark Richt is coach.

Just keep swilling the Kool-Aid and thinking your “Dream Team” will come through. Most of them will be in jail or dismissed by tbe time the season begins, anyway.

TampaGator

April 13th, 2012
6:38 pm

Piney Woods…..

I would take one Athens over 20 Columbias……just saying. Been to both. Not impressed with Columbia. Was with Athens. Great college town.

Lamar

April 13th, 2012
6:38 pm

HA! HA! Old Spurrier knows who has the best team! What he really is saying is, “We stand a better chance beating them with 2-3 players out” But if they don’t WE GET OUR BUTT KICKED BY GA! What is so funny is they cried last year that they beat GA during the year (Although GA turned it over 4 times for 21 points) and after beating GA they got CHEATED OUT OF THE SEC championship game. Thats their take but, SOMEBODY REMIND THEM THEY LOST TO AUBURN, A TEAM GA BEAT 45-7. !! They were better than GA HUH? NO! JUST WE HELPED THEM OUT! Cant wait until we PUT THEM IN THEIR PLACE! Ga wins, 31-17. GO DAWGS!

Robin Huud

April 13th, 2012
6:43 pm

Well I see all the Georgia Rednecks are home tonight. I guess the blue collar workers get off earlier than anyone else. The real reason Georgia hates Spurrier so much is simply that they can not beat him on the football field. Ten losses in a row at Florida and 3 in a row at SC. History is history; that’s the past and all these “necks” down there live off the Husshel years. If the SEC would choose who wins the conference divisions by the division record only, Georgia would have been sitting at home last year. I lived in Atlanta for years and it is full of rednecks who have no other ambition but to chew tobacco and see their Dawgs. They even have a funeral for a mascot; how lame.

LakeDawg

April 13th, 2012
6:49 pm

Columbia might be the worst destination in the SEC. It’s hot, nothing but pine trees, and Columbia is shabby looking. It’s kind of a pit.

edward f. davis md.

April 13th, 2012
7:49 pm

I do not respond to the ignorance of any teams fan base, but you clowns beat all i have ever seen.SteveSpurier beat you clowns at SANFORD STADIUM in 2010 and you scored 40 plus points on him. WHO WAS THE WINNER WHEN TIME RAN OUT? YOUR quarterbac couldnt tell who won because all he could see was CLOWNEY in his face. REMEMBER you bulldog fans come to COLUMBIA this year for your annual spanking.

kingdaddy

April 13th, 2012
7:57 pm

Huud
” the real reason Ga. hates Spurrier” For your information, everyone except S.C. koolade drinkers hates him. E V E R Y O N E!!! Ga. Hates him. Fla. Really Hates him, and Tenn. Really, Really Hates him. Hell, his own family can’t stand him. Ask anyone from Johnson City Tenn. which is his hometown, what they think of him and you’re liable to get hurt really bad. He is a very unlikeable man. He loves to slight everyone else. He also loves to make excuses for his loses. He’s quite good at that. You keep drinking his lemonade, trust me, one day, you’ll hate him just like everyone else…

kingdaddy

April 13th, 2012
8:07 pm

I was stationed at Shaw A.F.B. and swore it was the arm-pit of the South. Columbia is a sad place with as much or more crime as Atlanta. The only thing worth a damn in S.C. is KFC…

kingdaddy

April 13th, 2012
8:24 pm

I’m just talking bout fried chicken. LOL …

funktavious

April 13th, 2012
8:30 pm

So nobody was suspended behind the Whitney Hotel deal? Better check again. Chris Culliver, Jarriel King, and Weslye Saunders were suspended and Saunders was never allowed to play again.

Billdawg

April 13th, 2012
8:48 pm

Steve was right..so we all Lol

Snoop Dawg

April 13th, 2012
8:50 pm

Listen folks. Richt isn’t worthy of kissing Steve Spurrier’s big toe. Starting in college. Richt was a second stringer at Miami. Spurrier just won the Heisman trophy at Florida. Spurrier has whipped Georgia’s little hindie for about twenty years. Then he came back at South Carolina. Now he whips Georgia and Richt’s little hindies at South Carolina. He schooled Richt like a Kindergartner the past two years. I was there to suffer.
Richt is a loser, and as long as he is at UGA, so is Georgia. The Dawg Nation is just jealous, if it even has enough sense to see reality.. Drink that Koolaid boys!

icedawg

April 13th, 2012
9:03 pm

The Ole Ball Coach is definitely entertaining.

Dawg1

April 13th, 2012
9:14 pm

Funny stuff…

Feeling his oats after a couple of victories in a row – we’ll see what happens…

Snoop Dawg

April 13th, 2012
9:19 pm

Last year, the UGA players manhandled their South Carolina opponents. In the coaching department, however, Spurrier took Richt to the woodshed. Result: USC whipped Georgia’s arses.

How does that feel. How do the players feel about their coaches being so stupid after playing their hearts out?

Spike

April 13th, 2012
9:21 pm

LowCountry Bulldog… What in the hell are you talking about?

Ga>usc

April 13th, 2012
9:24 pm

mark this down—ga will upset usc in columbia and take over the SEC east early! Fla’s down again—ga beats them easy. Ga v. lsu for the sec title!

SavDawg

April 13th, 2012
9:30 pm

love the spurrier comments… fuel to the fire

SavDawg

April 13th, 2012
9:33 pm

keep talkin ole ball coaall the way to Oct. – bet bobo, murray, and crew hang atleast 40 while jones, tree, rambo, and crew limit the sc o to no more than 20

Rednblackblood

April 13th, 2012
9:42 pm

Funny you comment about the Dawgs off the field issues MR GAYTOR, when your’e old coach Urban Cryer the Liar is front and center right now on that issue. At least we don’t cover up issues like what was done by that jackass. If you haven’t read Matt Hayes article in Sporting News you should. It highlights the rumblings of things we heard about years ago here in Jax. And yeah, I will see you here at the end of Oct. for your second(really should be third) loss in a row. Or is it the beginning of Nov this year?

Rednblackblood

April 13th, 2012
9:52 pm

@RobinHuud. It may be an old and rickety hook on the back of a door, but at least we have somewhere to hang our hat. And, we have been close a few times in the last decade. How many times has USC won the east? How about the SEC? How about the whole enchilada? Oh, and I don’t chew tobacco, I hate country music and my neck isn’t red.

Andy

April 13th, 2012
10:02 pm

In the days of the Bear coaching Ala UGA was the first game of the season or either Alabama homecoming game. thats what we thought about UGA in those days. A sure win for Bama

bama_outlaw

April 13th, 2012
10:04 pm

hater will always be hater !!!!now stfu TARDS . sc sucks, uga sucks !!!!!! middle or the road how about bottom of the barral for sc & uga!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kingdaddy

April 13th, 2012
10:09 pm

You want to make Stevie mad, just mention Johnson City. Whooooweeeee!!!

Andy

April 13th, 2012
10:15 pm

Red and Black you have to consider how long USC has been in the SEC and how long UGA has been in the SEC. There is quite a diifference in the # of year the Dawgs have been in the SEC vs South Carolina..I think Ga has been in the SEC about 80 years and won maybe 12 SEC titles..

kevin

April 13th, 2012
10:21 pm

If Spurrier is concerned with being funny, he should just keep allowing himself to be photographed shirtless.

LakeDawg

April 13th, 2012
10:36 pm

Andy

April 13th, 2012
10:02 pm

In the days of the Bear coaching Ala UGA was the first game of the season or either Alabama homecoming game. thats what we thought about UGA in those days. A sure win for Bama
————————————————————————————————————————————

Andy, you’re just making stuff up. You probably weren’t even alive back when the Bear coached. I was. He only faced UGA six times against Dooley and went 4-2. All games were close with the exception of one Bama blowout ( with Namath) and one UGA blowout (76 SEC champs).

ugalee

April 13th, 2012
11:00 pm

is that the best comeback richt can muster? I mean i realize Goff would have just given a painful grimace and moved on but at least Donnan would have said something memorable. I wish Richt would show some fire sometime instead of being mr Vanilla all the time

USC2001

April 13th, 2012
11:22 pm

Spurrier is Jawja’s daddy.

niedermeyer

April 14th, 2012
1:43 am

Was there daddy.

Dawgbreath

April 14th, 2012
3:18 am

My goodness, USC is going to wear us out with that defense against our line. Man beast Clowney another year older and if you do block him you still have the other beast, Taylor. not to mention Ga. boy Connor Shaw who we did not even play against. Plus a healthy Lattimore (by the 4th game).

Spurrier is writing a check with his mouth that he knows he will cash in October.

You're paying that bozo Richt how much money a year???

April 14th, 2012
5:50 am

A few comments about UGA:

1. Four different SEC teams have won the last six BCS championships.

2. UGA was not one of those teams.

3. During that period, UGA did not win the SEC championship.

4. Red panties and hashbrowns.

In other words, UGA has sunk into total irrelevancy both regionally and nationally.

So why is UGA paying Mark Richt millions of dollars a year?

Beast from the East

April 14th, 2012
7:18 am

Nice piece about Tebow’s charity golf tournament with Bubba Watson in attendance. I gotta tell you Dawgs that I didn’t know too much about Mr. Watson before his Masters win, but he sure is a great young man. He’s made this Gator into a fan of his.
http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20120413/COLUMNISTS/120419781?p=4&tc=pg

hope no more arrests

April 14th, 2012
8:53 am

truth hurts and we always find a way to lose to usc

dawgs2004

April 14th, 2012
9:24 am

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

But it seems his players always seem to be off suspension just in time when his teams play UGA. Just goes to show he can’t beat us unless he has all his players in the game. Hey Steve remember Bill Stanfill??????? How we took away that SEC title you NEVER WON???

dawgfan

April 14th, 2012
9:52 am

Spurrier speaks the truth.

Thanks

Job Status

April 14th, 2012
10:36 am

richt a good man–a good, but not great coach. Bottom line: richt will not win a bcs title at ga—just the facts.

wde

April 14th, 2012
12:04 pm

Hey I woke up this morning really looking forward to the G-day game on such a beautiful spring day..and basking in the glow of being 2011 SEC East Champs.. Go Dawgs!

[...] Personally, I like Spurrier. He’s the most famous graduate of my Alma Mater, Science Hill High School. He was the greatest Hilltopper. His comments are more psychological than anything, you just have to know how to deal with them. [...]

ugab

April 14th, 2012
1:53 pm

Spurrier speaks the truth/// You can count on key players being suspended the 1st of the season for uga.. Like Bowden said about Uga drug testing,” ga is at a disadvantage” If CMR wants to win ball games, he needs to get with the program. Freakn loser