After saying initially he would keep his quarterback choice a secret, USC coach Steve Spurrier sort of tipped his hand Tuesday when he joked that Stephen Garcia could send him to an early retirement.
Asked if that meant Chris Smelley would start next week at Clemson, Spurrier said: “He’s got the inside right now. He had some bad plays the other night, too.”
After alternating quarterbacks against Arkansas and Florida, Spurrier plans to stick with one against the Tigers. It looks like it will be Smelley, the redshirt sophomore who is 9-5 as a starter.
Smelley has completed 58.5 percent of his passes for an average of 153.1 yards per game, with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Garcia, the redshirt freshman from Tampa, Fla., has a 53.8 completion percentage for an average of 107.6 passing yards, with six touchdowns and five interceptions. Garcia is the Gamecocks’ third-leading rusher with 173 yards on 65 carries.
“Our quarterback play wasn’t very good the other night (at Florida). A lot of our play wasn’t very good,”
Spurrier said. “So anyway, we’ll try to get one quarterback and see if he can take care of the ball and help us win the game.”
Stock rising
Linebacker Eric Norwood has five sacks in the past two games, increasing his SEC-leading total to nine. The junior is expected to ask the NFL’s underclassmen advisory committee for a draft evaluation but said he plans to return for his senior season.
“I’ve got every intention on being here and graduating (in August),”
he said. “That’s the main thing. I promised my mom I’d graduate.”
Stock falling
Garcia. The most highly touted quarterback Spurrier has signed at USC, Garcia needs a better grasp of the offense.
Injury report
Kicker Ryan Succop’s torn abdominal muscle turned out to be a sports hernia, the senior learned recently after meeting with a specialist. Succop has received painkiller injections before games and will require surgery after the season. ... Safety Akeem Auguste, who missed the Florida game with a hamstring injury, said the leg is about 80 percent, but he hopes to play at Clemson.
