Freshman To Share Time With Garcia At QB

Spurrier: Freshman Shaw to share QB job with Garcia

By Neil White
nwhite@thestate.com

Posted: Friday, Aug. 20, 2010


South Carolina-Freshman quarterback Connor Shaw, photographed Sunday during USC Football media day. Photo by Tracy Glantz/

COLUMBIA Steve Spurrier cracked open the door early this week when he said South Carolina freshman quarterback Connor Shaw would play against Southern Miss in the season opener.

The Gamecocks football coach threw open the door Thursday after a strong scrimmage by the youngster from Flowery Branch, Ga., who is battling incumbent junior starter Stephen Garcia for the job.

“Definitely, Connor is going to play in the first game,” Spurrier said. “Right now we’re planning on both of them playing, and we’ll go from there. Statistically, he’s been the best quarterback on the team in every scrimmage. That’s where we are with that.”
Shaw reacted to the news in the same stoic manner with which he carries himself on the field.

“It’s really not my call,” he said. “I’m just trying to prepare myself for Southern Miss and games ahead.”

Shaw, 6-foot-1, 202 pounds, took the first snaps in Thursday’s scrimmage and showed how much he has developed since the start of camp. He completed 5 of 8 passes for 111 yards, including a 17-yard scoring pass, and rushed for 19 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown run.

Shaw said he feels more comfortable every day he steps on the field.

“I’ve had a pretty decent camp. It’s pretty much what I expected,” he said. “It’s been harsh sometimes, but I think I’ve done some pretty good things throughout the camp. I’ve learned a whole bunch.

“The main thing is I’ve got the experience I need to go into Southern Miss. I’ve still got two more weeks to get some more experience, but I think camp has brought me a long way.”

Shaw got a jump when he graduated early from high school and enrolled at South Carolina in January, which allowed him to participate in spring practice. He knows there remains plenty of room for improvement, noting that he throws on the run at times instead of setting his feet. But he knew his learning curve would be steep.

“There’s really no comparison from high school to this level,” he said. “The speed of the game, the thickness of the playbook, recognizing coverages, it’s so different. But I’ve come a long way since I graduated early.”

Shaw played for his father, Lee Shaw, at Flowery Branch High, where as a senior he passed for 3,100 yards and 30 touchdowns while running for 800 yards and 17 scores.
“I’ve been around this since I was 6 years old, and I think that has helped me in the long run,” he said.

He also has received help from his competitor at South Carolina. Normally, a quarterback who passed for 2,862 yards and 17 touchdowns the previous season would not be sweating out his starting position, but Garcia is being pushed hard by Shaw. The freshman, however, praises Garcia for his willingness to provide assistance.

“Stephen has helped me so much from spring practice through summer through camp. If I ever need anything, I go to him,” Shaw said. “I’m under his wing right now. He’s played here, he’s been there and done that, and I’m just learning from him.”

The quarterback competition isn’t something Shaw shies away from. Just the opposite.

“I hate to lose more than anything. I hate to lose more than I love to win,” Shaw said. “That’s pretty hard, because I do love to win. I was raised to be a competitor, and I’m going to compete in whatever I do.”

As the Southern Miss game approaches Shaw will try to determine what it will take for his solid play in practice to carry over into a game.

He understands that will be the ultimate determination of which quarterback gets more snaps.