Spurrier does not let Culliver walk over team
USC is getting ready to face the SEC’s top-ranked passing offense and No. 1 passer.
If there was a game the Gamecocks could have used their starting free safety, this Arkansas game certainly qualifies.
But Steve Spurrier was right to bench Chris Culliver this week before Culliver’s attitude problem festered into something more detrimental that could disrupt the Gamecocks’ locker room during this key, three-game stretch to close the regular season.
Culliver walked out of Monday night’s practice after an argument with an assistant coach, according to sources.
Lorenzo Ward, Culliver’s position coach, told 1400 The Team on Wednesday that Culliver would not accept a move from safety to corner, and responded with a poor attitude. Ward said Culliver’s shoulder injury made him a better fit at corner, where there is less hitting required.
Culliver apparently re-injured his left shoulder warming up for the Tennessee game, in which he whiffed on several tackles and appeared to give minimal effort on some plays.
Spurrier need only look back to last year to see how a couple of individuals can destroy team chemistry. Strong safety Emanuel Cook mailed it in academically the second half of the season after deciding he’d go pro early, and was ineligible for the Outback Bowl.
Spurrier also thought a couple of other underclassmen had one foot out the door – and not just the NFL prospects. Remember that two quarterbacks who started games last season transferred with eligibility remaining.
Culliver has given no indication he plans to leave early, but he has always marched to his own drum beat. He was suspended for the first half of last year’s Florida game after taking a swing at an Arkansas player near the end of the Gamecocks’ win in Columbia.
After the Alabama game this year, Culliver stood in front of a microphone and questioned the defensive scheme Ellis Johnson employed late in the game.
Culliver is a good athlete who usually plays hard. And the Gamecocks are better with him in the lineup.
But Spurrier sent a message this week that no individual is above the team. Whether that message reaches Culliver remains to be seen.
23 Comments to “Spurrier does not let Culliver walk over team”
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USC football beat writer Joe Person has covered the Gamecocks since the start of the 2002 season. He's been on the college football beat since 1993. 
The bad thing is that Culliver has the potential to be an Eric Berry type player. If you haven’t noticed that all season long he has passed on oppourtunities to really ( LIGHT-UP) a reciever or running back. He closes on them fast and at the last second he will turn and just get a piece of him instead of laying them out.
The fumbles in the UT game were much more a product them executing good tackle form. As much as our Gamecocks D is praised for, it should be pointed out that they could tackle better and cause more fumbles. You cannot recover a fumble that never happens.
Culliver, Step up and be the great hardnose player that every Gamecock knows. Rest your shoulder and bring the Culliver A-Game to Flordia at whatever position the team neads you to play.
Immaturity oftens causes problems for college players. They’ve got to learn that ATTITUDE is most important. Putting the team first usually translates into good team performance and wins. Heck – look at the NFL – it is filled with players who have yet to grow up. Hopefully, Culliver will return to the team with a good attitude and that he will play well.
The name on the front of the jersey means more than the one on the back!!Spurrier got this one right…GO COCKS!!!
This was the right thing to do from a long-term perspective, both for the team and for Chris. He needs to learn that he’s only one piece of the team — something he needs to know in order to be successful regardless of what he does when he leaves Columbia.
It may hurt us this Saturday, but so be it.
I thought somwthing was wrong when Culliver was allowed to play when he was not hitting well…. why did they not do something then…. SOS has to come down on selfishness. No company wants it, no sports team wants it, no family wants it. Grow up Chris.
SOS has to do what he has to do! Culliver is decent but he sure as hell has not been the impact player a Rivals #5 should be. After close to 3 years, I’m underwhelmed by his performance. Year I he wanted to be a receiver and failed miserably. As far as running back punts and kickoffs, he’s not shown anything like Gilmore. Time for him to grow-up and show-up. It seems like he’s Captain Munnerlyn re-incarnate. And that isn’t good. Geraldo
blackmagic84, i vote you the most ignorant poster in the history of sports websites. no matter what board i am on, whenever i find myself reading a really stupid post, it is usually yours. you sir, get the moron of the year award.
Way to go coach. He’s a student of football trying to learn from some excellent coaches. If he doesn’t like, send him packing and use the scholarship elsewhere. The team comes first.
What is it they say about some athletes… million-dollar body, 10-cent head?
Culliver is an impact player…but the impact of a player can be positive or negative. Not accepting a move to another position where he could make a POSITIVE impact….and lessen the NEGATIVE impact on his shoulder seems to be a negative impact on the team….like saying “I want to make a difference, but I think I know better than all the coaches and the only place I’m willing to TRY and make an impact is at “X” position….not saying that is his attitude, because I am not privy to that information; However, I know he plays hard, and has been a key impact player for us…but the attitude….Does he really think that the coaches don’t want to help him shine so that he CAN make it to the NFL one day?? and by ‘make it to the NFL’ I don’t mean getting picked in the late rounds and seeing if you at least make a practice squad. Players who aren’t willing to adapt to the needs of the team soon find out that the NFL stands for ‘Not For Long’. I hope he heals quickly, and can find the ‘it’ factor that will adjust his attitude from “me” to “we”…..Time will tell. Glad it’s getting nipped in the bud though before we have the E.Cook Syndrome here again
Did you see last night’s South Park BlackMagic84? It was about you. 100%
Black Magic: How can you say it took 5 years for spurrier to get a back bone? Were you not paying attention when he first came on board at Carolina? Remember Demtrius Summers? Yeah, kicked off the team. Cory Boyd? Suspended for an entire year. And Garcia did get disciplined, he was on his third “spring semester” in Columbia before he was eligible to participate in pre-season work outs, he also recently suspended Jarvis Giles for the Alabama game… So simply put, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Go Cocks, go Spurrier. One thing Spurrier doesn’t put up with is crap from 18-22 yr old kids he think they are hot shots, and for that matter I tip my hat to him
This is a huge hit to the team. I agree with all, the attitude must be in check and all of thatT but to write this guy off woudl be a mistake. We are a much better team with him on the field. Chris, I for one am pulling for you and hope you get your head in the game and heal quickly. WE NEED YOU.
Maybe the Gamecock name should be changed to Groundhogs since this “Groundhog Day” from last year seems to be happening over again!
C C is one of the worst kickoff returners i have ever seen. One thing he does well is catch the ball. To be a good k r you need to find a gap or a lane and run full speed. He runs up, hesitates, jitterbugs, side steps or runs backwards. You will see this week he will not be missed as k r,on for that matter on defense. The WORM WILL BE TURNED LOSE and will return every kickoff for next 3 years. BOOK IT
Spurrier needs to get him on the field. To beat Arkansas and their passing game, the Cocks need all the good DBs in the game, whether they have an attitude or not. Spurrier doesn’t have enough talent to bench the top players. Lace it up baby!!
[...] Spurrier isn’t allowing starting safety Chris Culliver to make the trip to Arkansas because he walked out of practice on Monday following an argument with an assistant.Spurrier must be given credit for benching his starting [...]
It is a different day. Lets talk again in 4 weeks. USC is at least 7/5 or 8/4!
[...] Chris Culliver, team player. [...]
Granted, Culliver did not tackle well in the Tennessee game, but he has a valid point in criticizing the defensive coaches and their schemes (post the Alabama game).
Carolina’s defensive talent, particularly of its skill players, is getting neutralized by non-opportunistic coaching schemes. Culliver put his finger on it when he criticized the schemes in the ‘Bama game, particularly when Ingram was in the wildcat formation. I’ll repeat what I said in a past post: Why didn’t D coaches quickly “paste” a linebacker/spur to Ingram, solely tracking and attacking him on all plays (run or pass) no matter what else was going on? Plus, they should have switched to an 8-man front during ‘Bama’s 4Q drive when Ingram was clearly running the ball or handing off to WR Jones from the wildcat. Put 6 in the box to stuff the inside run (with backers blitzing), 2 backers/spurs rushing hot on the corners toward Ingram’s shotgun position, 2 D-backs further out on the line for containment and 1 safety in zone coverage in charge of containing breakthrough runs and any wildcat trick pass. Ingram is a dynamic, powerful runner but not a passer, stack the box and force him to prove he throw a floater or at least a quick, short pass! Carolina has very good, physical D-backs that matchup well man-to-man, particularly if the running back is doing the passing. In that scenario, the ‘Bama wildcat was vulnerable to an over-weighted, mad rush (note Virginia Tech used this scheme very effectively against East Carolina this past Thursday night). But Carolina’s D coaches played passively, sat back and gave ‘Bama’s rushing attack the perfect scheme to exploit. NEWSFLASH! Given Kentucky and ‘Bama success running the wildcat, Carolina is going to get a strong dose of it each remaining game, including from Clemson with Spiller.
Another example of the Carolina coaches (both the D and Spurrier) failing to understand the situation and matchup opportunity was at the start of the Tennessee game. Recognize that 1) it’s raining, making ball handling and footing precarious for both teams, neutralizing some offensive punch, 2) Tennessee QB, like Garcia, is short on confidence and vulnerable to mistakes if you can pressure him earlier, 3) your defensive strength is the pass rush, so shape the game so that it plays into your strength, and 4) work to turn the tables on early mistakes by your offense (putting you in a whole), doing the same to Tennessee. So (and this doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out), since you won the toss, choose to kickoff (admittedly, you need to stop the return) and play defense—except, play very aggressively scheme wise. Blitz heavy (mixing it up with overloading the box and delayed blitzes), not giving the Tennessee QB time to pass long but instead forcing quick short passes at best. Your D backs can matchup man-to-man. Again, take a cue from other teams doing this! At the college level it takes an exceptional QB to handle such pressure.
Having said all this, such a scheme will not work against Arkansas’ Mallet but will work when they switch to the wildcat, which they will do.
Spurrier has to go!
POOR COaching and POOR preparation from the coaches,,,,,,,,,too much money 2.5 Millions for Spurrier to coach worst than High school