When Will Muschamp thinks of legendary coaches in the Southeastern Conference, he thinks of headgear. Specifically, a houndstooth hat and a visor.
“There are really two coaches that come to the forefront of your mind as far as what they’ve done for this league,” Muschamp said. “That’s Bear Bryant and Steve Spurrier.”
Spurrier has a statue outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium that commemorates his playing career at UF, which included winning the Heisman Trophy in 1966.
However, what Spurrier accomplished with a clipboard on the sidelines proved far more instrumental in establishing Florida as a premier college football program.
In the 83 seasons before Spurrier arrived at UF in 1990, the Gators averaged just 5.3 wins per season and had never won a conference championship, let alone a national title.
During his 12-year tenure, Spurrier averaged 10.2 victories per season, won six SEC titles and delivered Florida’s first-ever national championship in 1996.
He also introduced the “Fun ‘n Gun” offense to the SEC, which helped quarterback Danny Wuerffel win the 1996 Heisman Trophy. With Wuerffel under center, Florida became the first school to tally more than 500 points in a season for four straight years (1993-96) since the NCAA started keeping statistics in 1937.
“You look at what he did when he came to our league,” Muschamp said. “It was more of a ‘3 yards and a pile of dust’ league, and he came in and spread the ball out a little bit.”
Said UF linebacker Jon Bostic: “He likes to air it out. He can draw up a lot of different things and give a defense headaches.”
UF quarterback Jeff Driskel does not know much from Spurrier’s tenure at Florida except what the record books say. However, he’s well aware of the Ol’ Ball Coach’s legacy.
“It’s hard to miss the statue,” Driskel said. “It’s hard to miss a guy that named our stadium.”
For the past eight years, Spurrier has been working to match his success at Florida in Columbia, S.C. In his eighth season at South Carolina, Spurrier has already put his name in the record books.
In 2010, he led the Gamecocks to their first SEC Eastern Division Championship, which he clinched with a 36-14 blowout win against the Gators in The Swamp. Last season, he led South Carolina to a program-best 11 victories and a No. 9 final ranking — the highest final ranking in Gamecocks history.
Twice in his tenure at South Carolina, Spurrier has beaten Florida to prevent the Gators from advancing to the SEC Championship Game. Most recently, it happened in 2010.
“It was tough,” Gators wide receiver Frankie Hammond Jr. said of watching the Gamecocks celebrate winning the SEC East in Gainesville two years ago.
When Spurrier and South Carolina come to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., it will mark the first-ever top-10 matchup between the two squads.
Raising the stakes, the Gators and the Gamecocks are currently the top two teams in the SEC East standings.
Saturday’s game will feature two key contenders in the 2012 national championship race, and Spurrier is responsible for building each program.
Spurrier is focused on delivering South Carolina its first crystal football, much like he did for Florida. He has tried to downplay his connection to UF this week, but admitted returning to The Swamp is still an odd feeling.
“I guess it is a little unusual to be on the other team when you come into the ball park and your name is on the wall up there,” Spurrier said.
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier calls out to his team before its game against LSU in Baton Rouge, La., on Saturday. LSU won 23-21.
