Last week I caught up with assistant football coach Steve Spurrier Jr. (left), who coaches wide receivers and was recently named recruiting coordinator, to talk spring practice, Alshon Jeffery and the receiving corps, and his new role as recruiting coordinator:BL: What has been your biggest focus for the wide receivers in spring practice so far?
SSJR: Continue to learn and improve, cut back on mistakes, get smarter. Learn how to play fast, learn what to do. We want to be very assignment-centered. We do have a very talented group, more athletic than maybe we've had in the past but with repetition and learning we are trying to cut back on mistakes and cut back on assignment errors.
Obviously Alshon has emerged as a top player but who else has really stepped it up?
You know, we got this running back named Marcus Lattimore who has really shown up for some reason... [laughing]
Ha! Let me clarify that, what other wide receivers do you expect to step up?
I've got a good group. Ace Sanders is another guy who had a good true freshman year last year and did a lot of good things. Jason Barnes is a 5th year senior who we hope to give an opportunity to have a good year. He's had some highlights throughout his career. D.L. Moore is another we hope can have a good season. DeAngelo Smith has really played well this spring. Bryce Sherman is so quick. Nick Jones, Lamar Scruggs, we've got a good group of guys, we really do. And then we signed some freshmen. Damiere Byrd is one of the fastest kids in the country, he's going to get an opportunity. Alshon's brother, Shamier Jeffery, we're looking forward to seeing what he can do. K.J. Brent was one of the first wide receivers we offered over a year ago. He's a talented, tough, intelligent player that we really expect good things from. We've got a good group, hopefully we can spread it out and have two or three more really good players besides Alshon.
Has anyone surprised you?
With DeAngelo Smith it's the first time I've really just seen him play. I've always known he was talented. I've been impressed with him but everybody is about where we expected them to be.
Jeffery (left) and Spurrier Jr. (right) with Desmond Howard in Orlando in December for the College Football Awards Show. Jeffery was one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award.
What are some of the things that set Alshon apart and make him so special?
He's a very good, intelligent football player. Obviously he's very big - 6'4", 230 pounds - and he actually runs better than you'd think he would. He just has a knack for receiving the football, a natural ability to catch the ball the way he does. He has very strong hands. He's kind of quiet, doesn't say much, doesn't have a lot of expression, but he's sharper than he gets credit for, he really is. He's a neat young man, I haven't coached many like him, I really haven't, just a very talented, hard-working kid.
When I did a Q&A with Alshon in the fall and asked about what goes through his mind on the field he actually quoted you, saying you always tell them, "do something to be great".
Yupp, be great. I like that too because I can hold them all accountable for that. It's rare that you have a group that can talk about that and we have a couple that can - they want to be great. We'll bark at them for everything, "hey, you know that's not good enough. You guys told me you want to be great, I'm going to hold you to that standard."
What really goes into being recruiting coordinator?
You do a little more paperwork. You have to have a greater grasp of everything and see everything. In the past I worried about the area I recruited and my wide receivers and that's it. So now I just have to have a perspective of the entire class. Another really big issue is oversigning. Last year was the first time the rule came into play where it affected people so that will be a very interesting issue as we move on. We have to be very careful about who we offer scholarships to and accept commitments from because it's a little different than it used to be.
What is your favorite memory at South Carolina so far?
Beating Alabama. Beating Clemson, those games have been some good ones. I've been fortunate to have a lot. Beating Florida was pretty good too.
What is your favorite play to run?
I can't tell you that! [laughing] It's a pass play to Alshon, that's all you need to know.
Anything else from your end fans might want to know?
I'm excited about Bruce Ellington. He's not allowed to do anything with us until summer. He has to go through one academic year so we'll get him officially in the summer and find out what he can do. Hopefully it'll be a smooth process. He's a talented kid, a really good kid so we're looking forward to having him. I told him [when recruiting him originally] he could play both and he said "well, right now I want to play basketball" and I said, "well okay, if you ever want to play football, call me back" and he did.
- Brittany Lane
You can get another glimpse at the 2011 wide receivers at this Saturday's Garnet and Black Spring Game at 1:00 PM. Admission is free, be there!
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