Steve Spurrier talks: Why he came to USC, biggest regret and the joy of beating Clemson

This week will be a homecoming of sorts at Williams-Brice Stadium.

At halftime of the Gamecocks’ game against Jacksonville State on Saturday, South Carolina will honor its teams from the greatest four-year stretch in school history, choosing not to celebrate any one team but the 2010-2013 Gamecock squads that went a combined 42-11.

Those rosters included many of the best players in program history: Marcus Lattimore, Jadeveon Clowney, Alshon Jeffery, Stephon Gilmore, Connor Shaw and others.

But the real star of those teams is head coach Steve Spurrier. After a stint in the NFL, the Old Ball Coach got to Colombia in 2005 and became the Gamecocks’ all-time winningest coach, elevating South Carolina football to a height it had never reached.

Ahead of the celebration on Saturday, Spurrier spoke with The State to share his thoughts on those teams, the current Gamecocks and college football overall. And, let’s just say, the 78-year-old Spurrier hasn’t forgotten much, rattling off records and scores from almost two decades ago.

Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.

The State: What’s it like to come back for these reunions, to see so many former players all grown up with families of their own now?

Steve Spurrier: Well, I’ve done a bunch of them. At Duke in 1989, we won the ACC football championship. We’ve had a reunion every five years. I went up there in ‘94, ‘99, ‘04, ‘14 and so forth. Then down here at Florida, we’ve started having reunions of the SEC championship teams and so forth. So, yeah, it’s fun to be around the guys. You know, while we were winning 11 games and doing this, that and the other, we knew we’d done something very important and that had never been done before. But we sort of felt like we left some games maybe somewhere that we coulda, shoulda have won. And maybe we could have won an SEC Championship. If we had just one SEC (championship), I would have been content. But we didn’t quite do it. It didn’t work out. But those were really good teams. Outstanding players. Good leaders.

TS: Is that your biggest regret at South Carolina? Not winning an SEC championship?

SS: Not getting an SEC (championship), yeah. I think we had teams capable, but we’d have one lousy game. I mean (three times), we beat the team that won the Eastern division: Georgia (2011 and 2012) and Missouri (2013). They’d go 7-1 in conference play and we’d go 6-2. We’d lose to LSU or Arkansas, some team in the West. But that’s the way it would happen. We’d beat two of them that won the East, but we had two losses. And they didn’t have but one, and that was to us.

TS: What was your favorite team to beat?

SS: Well, there were too many. One of the records I’m most proud of: Our four biggest rivals I think are Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Clemson. We played those teams every year. And in the 10 years before I got there, our record was five wins and 35 losses. And the years I was there, we had a 21-19 record. So I was proud of that. And we beat Clemson every year (from ‘10-’13). Actually, we beat them by an average score of 30-13, those four teams did. So it wasn’t like we were having upsets or anything like that. Proud of all the teams. They all had their special moments.

TS: When you were at South Carolina, when did it go from the point where you were building the program to the point where you thought it was turning the corner?

SS: You take your team, wherever it is, and run with it. The first year there, we beat Florida and Tennessee. First time we had beaten Florida since 1939. And the first time ever beating Tennessee in Knoxville — you know, that team I inherited and so forth. And you just go from there. You know, I never liked using that word “rebuild.” But we obviously started recruiting highly ranked guys: Stephon Gilmore, Jadeveon Clowney and then, of course, Marcus Lattimore was a big boost. So many really good players. That put us in position to win those 11 games and so forth.

TS: It’s crazy that so many of the stars of those teams — Lattimore, Clowney, Jeffery, Gilmore, etc — were from South Carolina. How good was the high school football in South Carolina in those years?

SS: Oh, it’s good every year. The population is not quite as many, obviously, as Georgia and Florida and all that. But high school football in South Carolina is very good.

TS: What was your favorite game from that 2010-2013 stretch?

SS: I’d hate to say my favorite but one of my favorites was the Capital One Bowl against Nebraska in 2011. We had an opportunity for the first time in school history to win 11 games. First time in school history to finish in the Top 10. So there was a lot on the line to beat Nebraska down there. We got off to a slow start, but we blocked their extra point. Byron Jerideau went through and blocked their extra point and Stephon Gilmore got the perfect hop and went about 95 yards for the two points. It was 13-2 (Nebraska) and from there on we scored four touchdowns and beat them 30-13. How ‘bout blocking an extra point being the big play of the game? Every time I see Jerideau, I say, “Man, you turned that game around.”

TS: Going back to 2005, why did you want to come to South Carolina?

SS: I wanted to come because that was the only school that offered me a job. That’s why. And I wanted to coach some more. Yeah, I just finished up attempting to coach for Dan Snyder with the Washington Football Team. So I was out a year and (former South Carolina athletic director) Mike McGee offered me the job. And I said, “I’m coming.”

TS: After listening to Dabo Swinney’s rant on Monday, are a number of programs where winning is so expected that even when you win, it’s not good enough. What was it like going from a school in Florida that expected to win every game to South Carolina, where the expectations were lower?

SS: Well, that’s just the way life is. At Florida my last year (in 2001), we actually finished third in the nation. But we lost the last game of the season and did not win the SEC, did not win the division. (We) won the bowl game — the Orange Bowl. And when I left, a good bunch of them (fans) said, “Well, he’s finished anyway. He hadn’t won but one SEC (title) in the last four years.” So they said, “He’s finished, we need somebody else to come in here and start winning these SECs as fast as we can.” So that’s the just the way fans are. Some philosopher one time said, “Once a person’s mind is stretched to new limits, it will never return to the original thinking.” So we won 11 games those three years (at South Carolina) and the fans are saying, “Gosh, if we’re capable of winning 11, let’s do it.” And it doesn’t happen every year, that’s for sure.

TS: You hired Shane Beamer to be an assistant for you at South Carolina in 2007. What do you think of the job he’s doing at USC right now?

SS: I think he’s doing a pretty good job. Obviously, they’re struggling this year. But going into this year he had a winning record. I don’t know how they’re gonna finish this year. He needs to win the last four to make a bowl game. If he does that, he still has a chance at a winning record. I just always believe coaches, we’re all whatever our record says we are and go from there.

TS: Thinking back to your time at South Carolina, what was your biggest recruiting win and biggest loss?

SS: Oh, I don’t think we had any real big losses. Probably the best guy was Marcus Lattimore. He could come in and just give him the ball — he could take over some games. And, obviously, getting Clowney and Stephon was huge — they were national recruits just like Marcus Lattimore. And several linemen and defensive players were highly recruited. Those were probably the most, you know, nationally known recruits. And Alshon Jeffery. Almost forgot Alshon. He could’ve gone anywhere in the nation also.

TS: You’re on the outside of the college football world now. But as you see everything going on, what do you think of the transfer portal and how would you use it if you were still coaching?

SS: I would try and use it like everybody else does. I think you have to, you know, utilize the portal and utilize the NIL money. And I think South Carolina has got NIL money. They’ve paid out some guys. They still have some guys leave here and there but they go get guys. You just do the best you can with it. But you have to participate. I think Dabo’s got to realize he may need to participate in the portal a little bit more.