Steve Spurrier and Rotating Quarterbacks: One Definition of Crazy

The saying goes that one definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results. Like maybe, repeatedly trying a rotating quarterback strategy and then wondering why it doesn't work. Enter Steve Spurrier. South Carolina used a three-quarterback rotation (Blake Mitchell, Tommy Beecher, Chris Smelly) in their scrimmage Saturday, with an underwhelming outcome:

"We rotated (the quarterbacks) every three (plays)," said Coach Spurrier. "They had a plan before every play, so you would think they could make a better decision than what they did. We threw about four interceptions in the end zone. I thought our guys could throw better. We've got to see if they can do it - that's why we practice. The defense made some good plays."

And apparently the offense made some bad ones. Carolina's QB chimera went 32-55 for 307 yards, only one touchdown and five(!) interceptions. Spurrier went on to say that the Gamecocks "might me a heck of a running team this year" and only throw the ball "about 20" times a game.

There's no doubt that the Ol' Ball Coach is a football genius. But he's been down this road before, notably in 1998 in an overtime loss to Tennessee when he rotated Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer on every other play. It didn't work in 1998, and it probably won't work in 2007. Rotating QBs creates myriad problems for an offense: cadence, timing, and rhythm for starters, and the truth is that if you think you have three starting quarterbacks, you probably don't have any.

Were I a Gamecock fan, though, I might be most troubled by this statement from Spurrier about how to fix the problem before September: "We'll have a lot of freshmen coming in .. we'll have a different team in the fall." It make me wonder, is Spurrier's priority improving the play of the guys he's got, or has become so enamored with his top-five recruiting class that he sees them as a cure-all?