The Sun’s Kevin Brockway, Noah Ramm and Andrew Abadie discuss the new Florida football coordinators and Florida basketball’s matchup at Texas A&M.
Steve Spurrier never shies away from speaking his mind.
In the 1990s, as Florida football coach, Spurrier quipped that Florida State should be renamed “Free Shoes University” because the rival school was being investigated by the NCAA for players receiving inappropriate gifts.
So, Spurrier did not hold back during a conference call celebrating his induction into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame on February 9. Spurrier was asked about Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s claims of molestation by Ole Miss coach Pete Golding and gave a candid answer.
According to John Blau of the Charleston Post and Courier, “I would have thought that by now, someone would have said to Dabo, ‘Dabo, there are no rules anymore,'” Spurrier said on the call.
Swinney alleged that Golding had contacted linebacker Luke Ferrelli after he transferred from California, after he had already signed with Clemson. Ferrelli had already enrolled in spring semester classes at Clemson and signed paperwork with the Tigers.
“They’re still on the books, I think, there (at Clemson) that you can’t do it after this date or that date,” Spurrier said. “… I don’t know if they’ll ever enforce any rules again, but I think Dabo has learned now, he’s got to start paying his players like everyone else, or you’ll be left behind. … You can complain but I don’t know how good that’s going to be.”
The 80-year-old Spurrier, who led the Florida Gators to six SEC titles and the first national title in school history in 1996, also had a successful run as head coach of the Gamecocks. In 11 seasons as South Carolina’s head coach from 2005–15, Spurrier went 86–49, leading the Gamecocks to three consecutive 11-win seasons from 2011–13 and winning the SEC East division title in 2010.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun Florida Beat the author. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. X Follow him at @KevinBrockwayG1. “CHOMP-IONS!” Read their coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in! – A hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
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