South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt: Steve Spurrier Previews the Matchup

A little late on this post, so apologies, folks. Stave Spurrier had a lot to say this week, both talking about the upcoming tilt at Vanderbilt and of course about Saturday’s action against Georgia–anything from who had a good day to somehow finding a way to say Vanderbilt is a better squad than everybody expects. The last couple of weeks, he, along with a good percentage of the fan base, has been skeptical on what we have seen so far. Finally, a good press conference, or “decent” as Spurrier may call it:

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-On Pharoh Cooper possibly being considered the “number 2” quarterback:

While not giving a yes or no, he does claim he is the “wildcat” type of quarterback and has seen more action than the other guys. When asked about how much the others will play this year, Spurrier said, “We have to wait and see how it plays out.”

-Speaking highly on his tight ends and receivers: Spurrier spent some time raving about tight end Busta Anderson and his performance against Georgia.

"“It happened to be Busta (Anderson’s) week to get some balls coming his way and he caught everything.” He then followed with how the well the receivers caught and protected the ball: “All the receivers I think caught just about everything. We had a couple there at the end of the first half, a high one that Nick Jones and Pharoh couldn’t hold on to, but overall the players caught the ball and took care of it.”"

-Talking about Dylan Thompson and his performance through the first 3 weeks and his confidence: Spurrier says the only bad play from Thompson was the late 4th quarter interception, but throws some defense his way at the same time.

"“We had one bad play in the game, that interception. They had a guy sitting right there waiting on it in front of Nick. He jumped in front of Nick.”"

When he was asked about Dylan’s confidence, the answer is comical, but truthful at the same time:

"“We had to calm Dylan down. He never really did calm down the other night. Our entire bench was jumping around too much after Brandon [Wilds] had that touchdown run to put us up. I said, ‘Men there’s still 13 minutes left and you guys are acting like the game’s over, way too big a celebration’, and Dylan was part of it.”"

-The strong performance on defense from Skai Moore:

"“He’s making some tackles. Hopefully we can get him some help with the other guys out there. Skai’s a good player and he did have a good game the other night. (He) got a game ball for making a lot of tackles. I don’t think he’s had an interception yet, but he had several of those last year. He was our leading tackler and interception guy. He’s a very good player.”"

I mean, can you have anything bad to say about a defender that even Todd Gurley comes out and raves on?

-On Vandy since his good friend Coach James Franklin left for Penn State: Of course, he mentions how many players they lost to graduations or how many recruits left Vanderbilt and followed to Penn State, but is quick in defense of the program this year.

"“…Vandy is not a whole lot different, not much different from when he (Franklin) was there. Their players play smart, play hard. They challenge you, play a tight man-to-man every now and then. They challenge receivers. If you catch one, they’re hanging all over you. That’s what we’re trying to get our guys to do.”"

-Asked again about Pharoh Cooper and his ability in open space:

"“He’s an excellent runner as we all know. We’re still trying to find some ways to get the ball in his hands a little bit more. He’s done well. He’s a good wide receiver and obviously an excellent runner with the ball.”"

-About Corey Robinson and earning the SEC Lineman Of The Week honors:

"“Corey Robinson was SEC Lineman of the Week. We haven’t had one of those in a while. Corey had his best game. Coach Elliott and all of us agreed that Corey probably had his best game as a Gamecock. He was a captain last week too. He’s really come a long way from his first couple years here at Carolina.”"

Hopefully the rest of the pressers will be this easy the rest of the season. One can only hope right? All quotes found here; and the full press videos can be found there as well.

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