South Carolina players received reduced hotel rates

Some South Carolina football players owed the Whitney Hotel several thousand dollars after receiving reduced room rates during extended stays at the hotel that have come under NCAA scrutiny, a source close to the situation told The State on Wednesday. Multiple sources said some players had been living at the Whitney since the spring while paying a rate of $450 per month. But officials determined players should have been paying about $1,200 a month, and players were told by school officials to pay the difference to the hotel. For at least two players who had not made any payments, the resolution meant they owed the hotel close to $5,000, according to one of the sources. USC coach Steve Spurrier would not comment Wednesday when asked about players owing thousands to the hotel, located in the Devine Street shopping district. Jamie Blevins, general manager of the Whitney, has referred all questions to the NCAA. –

The State

South Carolina poised for big year in SEC?

A “humbled” Steve Spurrier, already armed with bulletin board material for Game 1 against Southern Miss, may have his best South Carolina team yet. “We’ve got excellent players, the best group of athletes since we’ve been there,” Spurrier said. “I know they have the best attitudes. Their work habits and so forth have been excellent. Now we need to get past seven wins. We need to win big at South Carolina.” Spurrier’s intolerance for losing is evident, South Carolina senior fullback Patrick DiMarco said. “You can see the frustration in his face sometimes,” DiMarco said. “He was used to winning games by 40 points at Florida. Hopefully, this is the year we can win like that at South Carolina.” – The Clarion-Ledger

Youngest Spurrier joins South Carolina staff

Before following his father and brother into the family business, Scott Spurrier had to secure the blessings of a more immediate family member — his wife. It helped that Jennifer Spurrier digs the pigskin. “She loves football,” Scott Spurrier said. “You kind of have to like football to be in our family.” Columbia’s first family of football has added another nameplate in the Floyd Building, the two-story facility on George Rogers Boulevard that houses South Carolina’s coaches’ offices. Well, that’s assuming graduate assistants get nameplates. – The State

Clemson could end up in SEC?

How would Clemson University’s football fortunes change if it were a member of the Southeastern rather than the Atlantic Coast Conference? Would it upset the balance in the state rivalry with South Carolina, whose fans say their team plays in the more difficult conference and that those battle wounds take a toll when it comes time for the in-state game? This is getting a little ahead of the game, granted, but it isn’t too far-fetched to see the possibility that schools like Clemson, Miami or Florida State may be invited into the SEC if that conference has to re-stock itself following expansion of the Pacific-10 and Big Ten conferences now being discussed. – Times and Democrat

Lou Holtz a fraud? You decide.

By Peter Tannenbaum - Special to Football Rumor Mill

It’s interesting to see Lou Holtz out taking credit for his son Skip’s success. He plays the role of proud papa on ESPN and gives interview after interview.

Before the Skipper landed at USF, he told the Orlando Sentinel, “It would be great. We’d have the whole I-4 corridor covered,” said Holtz who lives in Orlando and whose son Kevin is a public defender in Daytona Beach. “I think Skip feels the same way I do.”

How do you think Skip really feels? The younger Holtz has been outstanding in two of his last three jobs. He won at Connecticut as a head coach. He won big at East Carolina.

Does anyone remember where he was a miserable failure? Let us refresh your memory. The elder Holtz demoted his son as offensive coordinator at South Carolina. He caved to the pressure. What did Skip do? He kept his mouth shut and eventually landed the head job at East Carolina – no thanks to Daddy Holtz.

It’s also interesting to note that the younger Holtz has yet to land a program on probation. His record was clean at both UConn and at East Carolina. What about Daddy? Well, that’s another story.

Much has been made of Lou Holtz leading six different programs to bowl games. Not as much, however, is made of him leaving four programs on probation.

Holtz was dismissed at Arkansas following a 6–5 campaign in 1983. What most forget is that he was shown the door due to looming NCAA sanctions and a commercial he did for right wing Senator Jesse Helms, who was leading the charge against the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Next up was Minnesota. Holtz left for Notre Dame after only two seasons but, the NCAA placed Minnesota on two years probation for 17 rule violations, two of which were committed by Holtz during his tenure.

The trend continued at Notre Dame. Following an investigation in 1999, the NCAA placed Notre Dame on two years probation for extra benefits provided by a representative of the university to football players and one incident of academic fraud. The NCAA found that Holtz and members of his staff learned of the violations but failed to make appropriate inquiry or to take prompt action, finding Holtz’s efforts “inadequate.”

After unceremoniously demoting his son at South Carolina, it seems Holtz had his mind on things other than NCAA rules. The NCAA imposed three years probation and reductions in two scholarships on South Carolina for ten admitted violations under Holtz, five of which were found to be major. The violations involved improper tutoring and off-season workouts (including supervised practices in summer), as well as a lack of institutional control.

So, there you have it… the real Lou Holtz.

Mitch Rodrigue, JB Grimes among candidates for South Carolina OL job

Former Mississippi State offensive line coach J.B. Grimes, former Clemson assistant Ron West, currently the co-defensive coordinator at Tulsa, South Alabama tackles/tight ends coach Mitch Rodrigue has an excellent background in coaching, Syracuse offensive line coach Greg Adkins was the offensive line coach at Tennessee from 2006-08 under former head coach Phillip Fulmer and Vanderbilt’s Robbie Caldwell are among the candidates for the OL job at South Carolina. – TheBigSpur.com

Should Steve Spurrier take over play-calling duties?

Four games, 49 points and one looming question: Is it time for Steve Spurrier to take over all of South Carolina’s offensive play-calling again? That was the $1.75 million question on Gamecock message boards following Saturday’s 33-16 loss to Arkansas — the fourth consecutive game in which USC failed to break 17 points. This is not the lowest-scoring, four-game stretch during Spurrier’s five-year USC tenure. The Gamecocks managed a total of 37 points over the final three games of last season — lopsided losses to Florida, Clemson and Iowa — and the 7-3 opening win at N.C. State this year. But the inability to find the end zone consistently has prompted many fans to wonder whether the Gamecocks would be better off with Spurrier calling all the plays, as he did his first three seasons in Columbia. – The State

Spurrier’s not so superior anymore

If he left the football field for the golf course today, Steve Spurrier would retire as one of the greatest coaches in SEC history. But you can trace his rise and slow return to earth by his performance against Alabama. Alabama 20, South Carolina 6 meant that Spurrier experienced two firsts: His first loss to Nick Saban and his first loss in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama’s victory also extended the program’s winning streak against its old nemesis to four. It started when Mike DuBose and company shocked Spurrier and Florida twice in 1999, first in the Swamp and later in the SEC Championship Game. It continued when Mike Shula and friends whipped Spurrier during his first season at South Carolina in 2005. And then came the ultimate indignity Saturday night, when the greatest offensive mind in SEC history couldn’t scheme his team into the end zone a single time. Spurrier started his SEC career with six wins in seven starts against Alabama. He’s now 6-5 against the Tide all-time. Maybe he should quit now, while he’s still ahead. – Birmingham News

Spurrier: South Carolina is going to be my last college job

Nearly three years later, Steve Spurrier wasn’t interested in reliving the details of Alabama’s latest coaching search Sunday, six days before the Crimson Tide hosts the Gamecocks. It marks Spurrier’s first return to Bryant-Denny Stadium since his tenure at Florida. “I don’t need to talk about whatever happened back then,” he said. “I said a long time ago that South Carolina is going to be my last college job, my last job in all likelihood. When I took the job, I wanted to coach here seven or eight years and see if we can’t win in the SEC. We still have hopes down the road that’s going to happen.” – Mobile Press-Register

Scoop: Spurrier to Tennessee?

There’s a lot of talk that if Phillip Fulmer is fired as the Vols’ coach, Tennessee could go after native son and current South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier. There’s increasing speculation that CSS thinks he may not be able to right the ship in Columbia. If those rumors are true, UT could be his way out…

Other Tennessee Names: Tampa Bay Bucs Coach Jon Gruden, Duke Coach David Cutcliffe, ECU Coach Skip Holtz, Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville…

Other South Carolina Names: Michigan State Coach Mark D’Antonio, Former Raiders Coach Lane Kiffin, ECU Coach Skip Holtz, Georgia Southern Coach Chris Hatcher, Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach, Current DC Ellis Johnson (who we think would be the prefect pick)…

“Scoop” posted on FRM is gathered from around the country from numerous sources within the coaching community…