FanHouse Steve Spurrier Jr.

I'm sorry, was that headline needlessly confusing? Let's see if the Ol' Ball Coach himself can clarify:

This year, I know there has been a lot of talk this summer about play calling. Let me just get that straight. I will be responsible for the play calling. Steve Jr. has been coaching with me going into 11 years now and together we will get the play calling done. The plan right now is for him to sort of put it all together and we'll get it in there. I will oversee all the play calling. I'm still the offensive coordinator.

Much better. So to recap: Steve Spurrier, Jr. (the Young Ball Coach?) will put the offensive gameplan together--some would even say coordinate the game plan--and together with his dad will get the plays called; although Spurrier Sr., as offensive coordinator, will be responsible for calling plays. Nothing beats clearly defined roles. But hey, this is Steve Spurrier we're talking about, so no matter what the official plan is, the result will be somewhere between pretty darn good and wrath-of-god domination.

More succinctly, Spurrier has shrugged off the rumors that he's frustrated in Columbia, saying he knows building a champion at South Carolina will take some time and that he's in for the long haul. For fans of other SEC schools, that means several more years of worrying that this is the season the OBC gets it all put together.

Usually spring is the season of unbridled (and in many cases, unrealistic) optimism for college football fans. Not so in Columbia, South Carolina.

An unspectacular recruiting season combined with disarray at the quarterback position (redshirt frosh Stephen Garcia was cited for underage drinking last month, his fourth offense in his short tenure at South Carolina) set the stage for the Gamecocks' spring scrimmage. After Spurrier's last spring game put fans to sleep (it was a low-scoring, 14-7 affair) the Ol' Ball Coach enacted new rules for '08: no pass rushing, no blitzing, and the defense was forced to play one of three base coverages.

Sounds like a recipe for an offensive extravaganza, right? Nope: QBs Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher combined for 8 interceptions versus the declawed 'Cock defense.

Add to this the fact that Spurrier has designated his son, Steve Spurrier Jr., as the new playcaller. And, yes, Junior was calling the plays. For both offenses.

Does Spurrier have one foot out the door already at South Carolina? If Spurrier fails to produce a competitive team in this, his fourth year in Columbia, you've just gotta wonder. The OBC is grooming his son for the head coaching job, hasn't been lighting it up on the recruiting trail, and has already been in public scrapes with the university over admissions issues. Gamecock fans are nervous about what ROI might come from their pricey head coach in his remaining time in the Palmetto State, and rightfully so.