Steve Spurrier is well-known for his quarterbacks and how he relates to them. In a nutshell, he can be a tad... rough. You don't go play for the OBC if you're not ready for a constant barrage of, ah, 'constructive criticism' from both near and afar.From Chris Low's SEC blog:
"If we had to play tomorrow, Tommy Beecher would be our quarterback," Spurrier said. "Tommy Beecher actually has played a little bit better in the spring than Chris Smelley and our other quarterbacks."But in vintage Spurrier fashion, it wasn't exactly what you would call a ringing endorsement.
"Hopefully, someday we're going to have a quarterback here we can all really hang our hat on," said Spurrier, who made no mention of suspended redshirt freshman quarterback Stephen Garcia. "Tommy Beecher is going to get that opportunity first to see if he can be the quarterback of our team. He hasn't played a lot here. He has all the physical and mental abilities to do an excellent job as our quarterback here."
Sort of a win-lose scenario for Beecher: his coach isn't expecting much, nor is anyone else for that matter, so what's to lose? Go out there and play loose, dude. On the flip side, it does sound like Spurrier's keeping the QB seat warm for the more athletic -- and ostensibly more talented -- Stephen Garcia. Despite four separate transgressions in his freshman year at South Carolina, Garcia will be almost certainly be welcomed back by Spurrier and the Gamecocks sometime this season.
