Coach Steve Spurrier announced Monday night that Quarterback Connor Shaw would be the University of South Carolina’s starting quarterback, putting an end (at least to this point) the Stephan Garcia era. This move comes after back to back games where Garcia looked unable to lead his offense, throwing for 228 yards 1 TD and 4 INTs against Vanderbilt and then throwing for 160 yards 1 TD and 2 INTs with a completion percentage of 39%. Even when looking at Garcia’s season stats (4 TDs 9 INTs and a 52% completion percentage) it is abundantly clear that Garcia has regressed from his 2010 season, where he threw for over 3,000 yards. Now it is up to relative unknown Connor Shaw to lead the Gamecocks to a place they have never been to before, and a place that Gamecocks fans are absolutely determined to get to: The BCS National Championship.
Shaw must take control of a football team that has the highest expectations of any other South Carolina Gamecock team that has ever taken the field. During the preseason, the Gamecocks were ranked by the 12th team in the country by both the Associated Press and the USA Today/Coaches Poll. On top of that, Sports Illustrated ranked them the 7th team in the nation with the title “Best Gamecocks Team Ever.” When you have All-Americans Alshon Jeffery and Marcus Lattimore, as well as the number one recruit Jadeveon Clowney, expectations are going to run wild. Fast-forward to today, THE SKY IS FALLING!!! The Gamecocks haven’t blown their competition out of the water, the Florida Gators look like a more complete team, Connor Shaw looked horrible against Eastern Carolina, and hated rival Clemson is the 8th team in the nation when they were supposed to be the ones that sucked. How can this 4-1 team be the “Best Gamecocks Team Ever” when they’re not even better than teams in their own state? Simply because reports have been grossly exaggerated.
Looking at the four games the Gamecocks have played, one can see that the national media (cough cough ESPN) haven’t really taken the time to examine the Gamecocks season. It’s much easier to look at the final score and report that, less time and energy. For example ECU, where Spurrier created a controversy two days before the game by naming Connor Shaw the starter for the first quarter. Everyone knew Garcia was in the doghouse, but this caught everyone off guard as seen in the schools newspaper’s (The Daily Gamecock) headlines “SHAWKER,” and Assistant Sports Editor Ryan Velasquez writing, “…Gamecock Nation in a state of shock after the announcement that veteran Stephen Garcia would not start against the Pirates.” Unfortunately, Shaw and his offense had the case of the butterfingers, fumbling the ball 3 times. At that point fans lost all hope in Shaw; he is of course responsible for freak fumbles by Marcus Lattimore and Stephon Gilmore, and welcomed back Stephan Garcia as he ran in a 32 yard TD. Thing is, a QB’s got to be able to pass, not just run.
Against Georgia, not only did the offense struggle but the defense “couldn’t stop a nose bleed.” Now, actually looking at why the defense was so porous instead of just examining the stat sheet one can see that the Gamecocks secondary was playing hurt. Freshman cornerback Victor Hampton and safety Brison Williams did not play against Georgia. On top of that, cornerback Akeem Auguste played with a foot injury. Georgia QB Aaron Murray passed for 248 yards and 4 TDs… in the past 3 games the Gamecocks have given up barely over 200 yards passing. South Carolina newspaper, The Post and Courier, says that after the Georgia game, and with the addition of Hampton and Williams, the Gamecocks have transitioned to more of a man to man defense. Along with the improved secondary, the defensive front seven have proven they can get to the QB with 13 sacks according to Gamecocksonline. Clearly, the Gamecocks have shown they are more than capable on defense to play any SEC opponent.
Finally, we can get to the man of the hour: Connor Shaw. It would appear that fans set their expectations for the QB position to high. Sure Garcia threw for over 3,000 yards, but fans have to realize that Garcia didn’t get to practice with the team that much during the offseason; he was suspended in April and held out of team practices till Memorial Day. He wasn’t even fully reinstated till August. Instead of practicing with the team, throwing passes to Alshon, he was focused on getting his life back together (rightfully so). Meanwhile, Connor Shaw has been taking all the first team reps. Sure, Garcia looked better against ECU, but he couldn’t pass the ball and the only plays he made were with his legs. I’ve never played collegiate football, or high school football for that matter, but it would seem to me that if you haven’t been practicing getting your mechanics down you’d resort to your natural athleticism. I believe this is exactly what has happened, Garcia hasn’t had the usual reps he’s use to, and unable to accurately throw the ball due to poor mechanics and a lack of timing, Garcia’s taking longer to read the defense and is using his legs to bail him out. That won’t work in the SEC if you can’t throw, as seen by Lattimore’s increasingly diminishing rushing stats.
Now a University turns to sophomore QB Connor Shaw from Flowery Branch, Georgia to right the ship. A kid who is known as a “gym-rat” by the coaching staff has been given the opportunity to become the face of a team pursuing a National Championship. With a defense much improved from last year, a Heisman candidate at RB, and an apparent top 10 NFL draft pick WR, Connor Shaw must give this team the leadership it has lacked these past 5 games. All that he must do to succeed is manage the offense, don’t turn the ball over and pound the rock. Good luck Connor Shaw, one game at a time.
*Stats from ESPN.com
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