HOOVER, Ala. -- Every year, SEC media days seem to be the unofficial start of the college football season.
And every year, it always seems like media days haven’t really started until Steve Spurrier stands in front of a podium.
Spurrier, who is about to begin his 11th season at South Carolina, once again delivered plenty of zingers during his 30 minutes with reporters on Tuesday. Here are some of our favorites:
On Tennessee and Arkansas
Spurrier: We were 7-6, same as Tennessee and same as Arkansas. I think they're sort of celebrating good seasons, so we're celebrating also.
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) July 14, 2015On Auburn vs. Texas A&M
Kevin Sumlin said Spurrier told him: "Didn't y'all have the same record as Auburn? You should tell them."
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) July 14, 2015On coaching at age 70
"Well, like I told people, I breezed right through age 60, breezed right through 65, and I'm going to try my best to breeze right on through 70. I can still remember just about everything. So mentally, I think I'm the same as I was. We got two people running for president, I think Hillary and Donald Trump are both 69, I believe. Coach K at Duke, he's still doing pretty good at, I think 69 also. So the age really doesn't mean a lot."
On Nick Saban and NFL money
"We've got some coaches in our league may go to the NFL someday. There's no guarantee they're going to be at this school the way some of those NFL teams can offer $15 million, $20 million a year to a coach. If one of them offered Coach Saban, it would make that $7.2 million look paltry to him probably, and they easily could."
On locker-room leadership
Spurrier said he's had backups who like to scream & yell. "I tell an assistant to tell him to quiet down because no one is listening to him"
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) July 14, 2015On new defensive coordinator Jon Hoke:
“Got a new coach, Jon Hoke. Jon was with me in Florida in 2001, 14 years ago. We led the SEC in total defense and in scoring defense that year. That year was really one of the best teams we had in the 12 years I was there. Only played two close games and lost both of them, lost to Auburn and Tennessee, [and] finished third in the nation [and] won the Orange Bowl. And that was a disappointing year because that team could have done a little bit better.
“Anyway, after that year, I decided to go pro. I went to the NFL, and Jon Hoke went to the NFL. I lasted two years, and Jon Hoke lasted 13. So he's a lot smarter [and a] better coach than I am.”
On critics:
“We’re hoping to return to where we were the prior three years, a top-10 team. We believe we have a fighting chance to do that. I know the critics are out there, and that’s why they’re called critics. They criticize every chance they get, and we gave them some chances to criticize us last year, which is OK. That’s part of our sport.”
On wide receiver Pharoh Cooper:
“We call him the South Carolina Pharoh, not the American Pharaoh, South Carolina Pharoh. But he’s a really good player. He can play receiver, shotgun, quarterback, throw, run. He’s really an All-American type player.”
On coaching longevity in the SEC
Spurrier: "I wish Danny Sheridan did the odds on every coach being here four years from now. That'd be fun to bet on."
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) July 14, 2015On South Carolina’s quarterbacks:
“I know you can’t get four ready to play, but we’ll have maybe some plays for [freshman] Lorenzo Nunez and the other guys. I’ve been a coach to play two quarterbacks. I think you all know that. And you can win with two. There’s nothing in the rulebook that says you have to have one.”
On last season’s difficult losses:
"Those were some tough losses. I was watching Dustin Johnson interviewed on the Golf Channel the other day, and they said, ‘Dustin, after you 3-putted at Chambers Bay, you didn't come to the trophy presentation. Why weren't you there?’ Gee, the guy just 3-putted from 12 feet. He just said, ‘I needed to get away.’"
“After we sort of blew a game, or you can say Tennessee beat us [when] we couldn't hold on to a 14-point lead with a little over four minutes. Yeah, I felt like getting away a minute. I was quickly at the press conference and left. So hopefully, people can understand, some losses are tougher than others, especially when you have a good lead and you can’t hold it.”
On his future:
“That retirement thing, I don’t think I’d be very good at it. I can go to the beach and stay four or five days, and, [then it’s], ‘Hey, let’s get on out of here. We’ve been here long enough.’ None of us know how long we’re going to be here. None of us know.”