HOOVER, Ala. -- Steve Spurrier stood at the same podium in 2008, and while his looks and demeanor have changed little, his talk was much different Tuesday when he said South Carolina might have its best offensive line ever.
That day in 2009, Spurrier groused about the 34-21 loss the previous season to Arkansas in Columbia, S.C., and talked about how things were going to change, that it was time the Gamecocks became a contender.
Most of the media in attendance seriously doubted that the guy who had suffered only three losing seasons as a head coach -- two with the Washington PIMs (Politically Incorrect Mascot) and his first season at Duke -- could do it.
Many former head coaches, including Lou Holtz, had said the same thing during their days at South Carolina. When Spurrier signed on to coach the Gamecocks in 2002, the school had an overall losing record and was considered an SEC patsy.
Spurrier didn't change that image much in his first five years, going 35-28. But he is 42-11 over the past four years and the real difference is in recruiting. Spurrier and his staff recruit more players with character than characters who can play football.
The Razorbacks Nation should breathe a sigh of relief that South Carolina will no longer be Arkansas' permanent opponent from the Eastern Division. That should not be taken as a shot at Missouri, which won the SEC East last season, but as a compliment for what Spurrier has accomplished at a school known more for being in a city with streets named after Confederate soldiers than winning football.
Until now, when most thought of Spurrier, they thought of Florida. He won the Heisman Trophy as a Gator, and when he left Duke to become the head coach of his alma mater, Florida was on NCAA probation. In 12 years, he was 122-27-1 with five SEC titles and a national championship.
He left for the challenge of the NFL and the big bucks that would allow him to retire "to the beach and golf" in five years, but that was, as he said Tuesday, "a bad plan."
The Florida job has come open twice since Spurrier quit the Redskins, and neither time was Spurrier a serious candidate, but any hostility he may have shown over the years seems to have eroded into a happy existence at a place where the fans show their appreciation on a regular basis and never question a loss or two.
He's Mr. South Carolina now. The Department of Tourism should pick up part of his salary.
He oozed enthusiasm and energy Tuesday, much more so than some coaches who are much younger than Spurrier, who is 69.
He actually didn't seem aggravated about having to show up here in the middle of July and he didn't take as many shots as usual at other schools or programs, although he did have to get in one dig when he was talking about how many Gamecocks are getting drafted now and how he was surprised that so few from Florida, Florida State and Miami were being taken.
That's the old Gator in him, but when he was asked about the Alamo Trophy that has been proposed to go the winner South Carolina-Texas A&M (who replaced Arkansas as South Carolina's permanent Western Division opponent), his roots showed.
The trophy honors South Carolina native James Butler Bonham, who died at the Alamo.
"I'm from Tennessee, and everyone knows Davy Crockett was the hero of the Alamo," he said.
South Carolina football has changed drastically in the past five years. Spurrier hasn't. The competitor in him still drives him to win, and he always knew he wasn't going to outcoach everyone. He just needed better players.
Spurrier is about to be the first to coach 10 years at two different SEC schools, and if he had been at only one the entire time he might be considered the best in SEC history.
Sports on 07/16/2014