According to a release by the USC sports information department the news of Victor Hampton’s return to the USC football team may have been a bit premature.

“Coach Spurrier just informed me that he has not officially reinstated Victor Hampton to the football squad. Coach Spurrier indicated that Victor’s situation is still under review and Victor needs to “do some things” between now and the start of the second session of summer school to be reinstated to the team.”

Hampton was dimissed from the team last week but Monday the word was Spurrier had decided to give the resdshirt freshman another crack at things.  It still looks like that is the case but Spurrier wanted to make it clear Hampton will not be back if he doesn’t have a good summer.

Sounds like Hampton is in the same boat as Stephen Garcia:  If he does what he is told and keeps  his nose clean this summer he will have a chance to join the team this season.  If not, so long.

Steve Spurrier isn't afraid to give a second chance

Steve Spurrier is apparently in a pretty good mood these days. Just a few days after news came down that defensive back Victor Hampton had been kicked off the Gamecock football team comes multiple reports that the Head Ball Coach has decided to let the redshirt freshman return.

Hampton was dismissed for what the team termed a violation of team rules. According to sources Hampton was struggling academically and was not showing up for the voluntary team workouts.

The BigSpur is reporting Spurrier met with Hampton and his parents and together they came up with a new set of guidelines for Hampton to follow. The report said Hampton signed a contract stating he would do what is asked of him from this point forward.

Spurrier is no stranger to second chances. Or third chances. Or fourth chances. Or fifth chances. Bottom line is that you have to do a lot to get the permanent boot from the HBC’s team these days.

The fate of defensive back DeVonte Holloman is still in the air. He was arrested last week and charged with DUI. Per athletic department rules he is suspended indefinitely until the school can sort through the legal issues. Holloman has a clean record and is one of the hardest working players on the team so it would be surprising if he is not back sooner rather than later.

Steve Spurrier

USC football coach Steve Spurrier joined us on SportsTalk Wednesday night from the “Victory over Violence” program in Columbia. Spurrier, along with Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and S.C. State’s Buddy Pough were also part of the program that calls attention to domestic violence and sexual assault.

Spurrier took a couple of minutes to join us on the program to discuss why this event is important to him and give an update on how is team is doing this summer.

AUDIO: Steve Spurrier on SportsTalk

Steve Spurrier turned 66 Wednesday

Here is the audio of Steve Spurrier’s comments on the SEC conference call today. Today is Spurrier’s 66th birthday and he is spending it at Harbour Town playing in the Heritage pro-am with Boo Weekly. Not a bad way to spend a  birthday, eh?

AUDIO: Steve Spurrier

Among the items Spurrier addressed was the oversigning issue that has been a hot topic of late and, yes, he talked about Stephen Garcia and the quarterback situation. You can read our take on Garcia in the post below.

Winning the SEC East helped Spurrier bump up his salary

As expected USC approved a new contract for Steve Spurrier today.  Nothing out of the ordinary really.  Spurrier will get a raise over the final three years of his contract (details below).   

I will say I am little surprised they didn’t add a couple of years to Spurrier’s contract to stretch it to five years.   Spurrier has said he wants to coach that long and from a recruiting standpoint it always looks good to have your head coach locked up for at least four years.

Anyway,  click below to read the entire release from USC.

The Executive Committee of the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees approved contract amendments for head football coach Steve Spurrier and head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley when it met Friday morning on the Columbia campus, it was announced today.

“Our football and women’s basketball programs are both moving in the right direction under the leadership of Coach Spurrier and Coach Staley,” said Athletics Director Eric Hyman. “They are both committed to taking their respective programs to the highest level and win championships. We are committed to providing them with the resources they need to be successful here. The future of both programs is exceptionally bright and we want to recognize the jobs that they are doing at the University of South Carolina.”

The terms of the final three years of Coach Spurrier’s contract have been revised, to which he will receive a guaranteed salary of $2,800,000 in 2011, $2,875,000 in 2012 and $2,950,000 in 2013. Coach Spurrier led South Carolina to a 9-5 record in 2010, including a win over top-ranked Alabama and the team’s first win ever at Florida, as the Gamecocks earned a spot in the SEC Championship game for the first time in school history. For his efforts, he was named the SEC Coach of the Year by his peers. He is 44-33 in six seasons as Carolina’s head coach. He has led the Gamecocks to five bowl appearances while all six of his squad’s have been bowl-eligible. Coach Spurrier originally signed a seven-year contract that ran through the 2011 season. It was extended for one year in 2006 and again for one year in 2009.

Coach Staley’s contract was extended for three years through the 2015-2016 campaign. Staley has guided the women’s program to a better record in each of her three years at the helm. South Carolina finished 18-15 in 2010-2011 and advanced to the second round of the Women’s NIT. The total wins for the women’s basketball team has jumped from 10 to 14 to 18 in Staley’s first three seasons. During her three-year stint, SEC wins have increased from two in her first year (2008-2009) to eight wins last season.

Stephen Garcia throws a pass at Auburn

The SEC was not directly involved in the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program in Columbia last week. It was at this event that USC quarterback Stephen Garcia was asked to leave leading to his fifth suspension.

SEC Associate Commissioner Charles Bloom informed SportsTalk there was not a representative from the league office at the event.

“From what I have been able to find out, there was no SEC representative in the MVP session,” Bloom wrote in an email to SportsTalk. “Thus, we do not know what was said in the meeting and are not able to comment or give reaction to it.”

It has been widely thought, including on this site, that the MVP program was run and moderated by the SEC. It is actually The Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University is in charge of the event.

According to a 2005 press release Northeastern’s Sport in Society partnered with the SEC for a “first-of-its-kind partnership to provide violence prevention education to all 12 SEC schools.” The release said the MVP program’s expertise is “educating athletes and young adults about the way that media, social expectation, gender roles, and peer pressures can lead to violence against women.”

A call to the MVP contact was not immediately returned.

Stephen Garcia was suspended indefinitely last week for conduct USC Athletic Director Eric Hyman deemed “unacceptable behavior for a university student-athlete”. Garcia admitted he had been drinking prior to the program and has since reportedly sought help dealing alcohol issues.

Steve Spurrier

USC coach Steve Spurrier put the lid on the Gamecocks spring practice Thursday. The Head Ball Coach said he was pretty pleased with the progress over the past 15 practices. He also made it clear what happens over the next four months during summer workouts will be perhaps even more crucial than the spring.

“We’ve tried to teach our players here’s what you do this summer…and I mean all summer long. “Spurrier said. “Some guys do it and some go drink beer all summer.”

AUDIO: Steve Spurrier wraps up spring practice

As Spurrier pulled away on his golf cart he asked the reporters nearby if we were going to use the quote about drinking beer. When we told him yes he smiled and said, “Well, I didn’t name any names.”

And with that Spurrier drove off ending what has been arguably the most memorable spring practice in Gamecock history.

Steve Spurrier's bank account is about to grow

The State’s Josh Kendall is reporting USC football coach Steve Spurrier is line for a contract extension and a raise. Tomorrow the South Carolina Board of Trustees is expected to finalize a deal that would increase the Head Ball Coaches annual salary. He currently earns two million dollars per season and has three years left on his contract.

According to the report the assistant coaches will also receive raises. None of the specific terms for any of the contracts has been released.

Spurrier led the Gamecocks to their first ever SEC Eastern Division title last season. He is entering his seventh season at USC. He said he still plans to coach another four of five seasons.

Marcus Lattimore says he wants Garcia back

The lingering effects of the latest Stephen Garcia bombshell were still in the air at Saturday’s Garnet and Black spring game. Steve Spurrier mention Garcia a couple of times in his post game presser, including once in the first thirty seconds of his opening statement.

“His fate will not be determined probably any time soon,” Spurrier said. We’ll see how all of that plays out maybe in the next three or four weeks.”

AUDIO: Steve Spurrier post Garnet and Black game

There have been rumblings that Garcia could finish up his career with another program this season. Spurrier didn’t exactly slam the door on that notion.

“Best thing for Stephen is he needs to graduate. He can graduate. He can graduate this May. If he passes everything he’s got he can graduate. That’s what he needs to do. He needs to graduate and keep all his options and go from there.”

If Garcia does graduate he would be able to enroll at another FCS school and play right away so long as it offers s a graduate program not offered at USC.

Spurrier did not confirm or deny the reports that Garcia is seeking treatment for alchohol issues.

“I can’t get into all his personal issues, Spurrier said. But we’re all hoping Stephen is right back here on campus Monday going to class and finishing up. We’ll all look at it as we go the next week or two.”

Garcia’s teammates continue to support him. Connor Shaw said he talked to Garcia briefly. Marcus Lattimore said he has not talked to Garcia but made it clear he is hoping to him back.

“I hope he comes back,” Lattimore said. “We will take (him) with open arms.”

Garcia has best day of spring

The USC football team scrimmaged Saturday morning inside Williams-Brice Stadium.  Following the workout, head coach Steve Spurrier and assistant head coach for defense Ellis Johnson gave their reviews.

AUDIO: Steve Spurrier

AUDIO: Ellis Johnson

Here’s the USC Sports Information Department report on the scrimmage:

The offense dominated the scrimmage early, scoring on each of its first four possessions, but the defense came around later in the scrimmage and forced several stops along with a pair of interceptions.

“We had an interesting scrimmage today,” said head coach Steve Spurrier. “The offense actually somehow or another went 70 yards the first four times they touched it, then after that they didn’t do much the whole scrimmage. At the end, the defense completely stymied the offense. We put the ball at the 50 where a field goal is a tie, and the offense didn’t even get a field goal attempt. So the defensive guys made a nice little comeback at the end of the scrimmage. It was typical of some of our guys,” continued the Head Ball Coach. “We had a little early success and they can’t handle success. Hopefully we can learn from it and move on.”

The offense struck quickly when, on the second play of its first possession, senior signal-caller Stephen Garcia hit junior tailback Kenny Miles out of the backfield on a wheel route. Miles did the rest, going 72 yards untouched down the sidelines into the endzone.

Faced with a fourth-and-one on its next possession, Garcia found sophomore receiver Ace Sanders near the sidelines behind the defense for a 43-yard completion for a touchdown.

Connor Shaw got into the act on the next drive. Facing a fourth-and-one, the sophomore quarterback hooked up with sophomore wideout DeAngelo Smith in the middle of the field on a 61-yard scoring pass.

The fourth drive was highlighted by sophomore tailback Marcus Lattimore’s only carry of the day, a 44-yard burst where he weaved his way through the middle of the defense. Miles covered the final four yards for his second touchdown of the day.

Later in the scrimmage, walk-on tailback Josh Hinch went in from eight yards out for the final score.

Garcia easily had his best day of the spring, completing eight of his first 10 passes before finishing the day 8-for-13 for 170 yards. Shaw hit on 3-of-4 passes for 83 yards. Dylan Thompson,

Andrew Clifford and Seth Strickland also took some snaps at quarterback on Saturday.

Smith was the top receiver with three catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. Lamar Scruggs added four receptions for 34 yards, while Miles and Sanders each had a pair of receptions and a score.

Sharrod Golightly and Reginald Bowens recorded interceptions for the defense.

The Gamecocks will begin their final week of spring practice on Tuesday at the Bluff Road Practice fields at 4 p.m. The annual Garnet & Black Spring Game will be held Saturday, April 9 at 1 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium. Admission is free. The game will be broadcast over the internet on ESPN3 with Bill Rosinski and Randy Shannon describing the action.

SCORING PLAYS:

Kenny Miles 72-yard pass from Stephen Garcia (Adam Yates kick)

Ace Sanders 43-yard pass from Garcia (Josh Newton kick)

DeAngelo Smith 61-yard pass from Connor Shaw (Joey Scribner-Howard kick)

Miles 4-yard run (Jay Wooten kick)

Josh Hinch 8-yard run (Yates kick)

PASSING: Stephen Garcia 8-13-1-170, 2 TD; Connor Shaw 3-4-1-83, 1 TD; Andrew Clifford 5-10-0-48; Dylan Thompson 2-6-0-18; Seth Strickland 1-2-0-0. TOTALS: 19-35-2-319, 3 TD.

RUSHING: Marcus Lattimore 1-44; Josh Hinch 7-18, 1 TD; Andrew Clifford 3-16; Kenny Miles 4-13, 1 TD; Stephen Garcia 3-1; Joshua Blue 4-(-4); Connor Shaw 4-(-8). TOTALS: 26-80, 2 TD.

RECEIVING: Lamar Scruggs 4-34; DeAngelo Smith 3-80, 1 TD; Nick Jones 3-33; Kenny Miles 2-76, 1 TD; Ace Sanders 2-53, 1 TD; Jason Barnes 2-12; D.L. Moore 1-17; Marcus Lattimore 1-7; Justice Cunningham 1-7. TOTALS: 19-319, 3 TD.