Shaw sees SEC speed at first practice
For anyone who thought Connor Shaw would show up at his first practice and step immediately into the backup quarterback role, Thursday’s shorts-and-helmets workout served as a reminder that making the jump from high school to the SEC remains a big leap.
Think Shaun White on the half-pipe big.
It’s not that Shaw was bad. He just looked young, especially when he stood next to Stephen Garcia, who was sporting a thick beard to go with his thick chest and shoulders.
Shaw was listed as 6-1, 192 pounds when he signed with the Gamecocks. The updated roster has him at 6-foot, 199 pounds.
He’s had two months in USC’s weight program. He’ll get bigger and stronger with time.
Shaw had his moments. Steve Spurrier, who puts a huge emphasis on throwing mechanics, said the ball comes out of Shaw’s hand “pretty nicely.”
It did not always maintain its spiral after it left his hand, however. The wind made throwing tough at times. Garcia had a couple balls flutter on him, as well.
Shaw’s welcome-to-the-big-time moment came on the final snap of practice, when strong safety Damario Jeffery made a good break and stepped in front of a Shaw pass for what likely would have been a pick-six in a real game.
Jeffery was primarily a special teams player last year as a freshman, finishing with 15 tackles in 12 games.
But the Columbia High graduate is big and strong and fast – the kind of athletic player that Shaw will be facing every week in the SEC.
No one is suggesting after one practice that Shaw won’t be successful – only that the learning curve in this league is steep, even for a high school coach’s son.
But Shaw will have his shot.
“He got a lot of snaps,” Spurrier said. “And he’s going to continue to get a bunch of snaps.”
37 Comments to “Shaw sees SEC speed at first practice”
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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. 
“SEC remains a big leap”, ” facing every week in the SEC”, “learning curve in this league”. Come on, Joe. The jump from high school to FBS is the leap, not the SEC. Way to pander to the superiority complex faction in your readership. Sure he’ll be playing against some great athletes and great coaches in league play, but he is just as likely to get his ass handed to him against a 5th place Big East team in a bowl game, if you know what I mean. and I think you do.
34-17 still hurts, don’t it “taters”…5th place Big East team hell of alot better than the “Atlantic Division Champions”…now THAT’s pathetic…know when to shut up.
I think it’s Tater who has the complex, an ACC inferiority complex, LMAO.
Shaw will be fine, glad to have a talented qb on the depth chart even if he does have a steep learning curve ahead of him.
Regardless of what the tater believes about the SEC, all one has to do is look at the stats of what the SEC has/is doing compared to the Asheshe. Carolina, altough being a mediocre team, is a member of the SEC and week end/week out they play some very strong teams. Even the sports “experts” attest to this. There is also no doubt that USC was not prepared for the bowl game and probably could have been beaten by any notable team on that particular day; maybe even Clemson.
Tater… Worry about your own team.
South Carolina > Clemson
Georgia > Georgia Tech
in 2009.
Both ACC champs lost to SEC East #3 and #4
Nuff said.
Seriously TLFC,
What else does the SEC need to do for you to acknowledge that its the superior conference in college football? They have won the last 4 BCS championships in a row and half of the BCS championships since the BCS started back in 1998.
TLFC-
Sounds to me like the superiority complex issues you possess stem from a complex within yourself that doesnt process statistics. 4 of the last 5 BCS titles, 14 BCS bowl wins since its induction, and an ACC showing of 1-9 through 2008. Im mean lets just be logical here. Please keep your comments to yourself if they referenece meaningless bable like your previous one did.
A.SHE.SHE BASKETBALL THIS SEASON IS ALMOST AS PATHETIC AS IS A.SHE.SHE FOOTBALL EVERY SEASON.
TLFC sounds like he has a Napoleon complex to me.
The constant banter and forth between Klemson haters’ and cock die-hards little to be left of true and accurate staements as to what is happening today and tomorrow. We kicked your butt,34-17 let us move on. Do know one thing taters, the times are changing; it is too bad that you are having such a hard time accepting it. I would expect it from an obvious immature bunch of a ……
The constant banter between the Klemson taters and cock die-hards leave little to be left of factual and truly bites of worthy info. The current state of both programs are much room for improvement. Who gets their first is unknown, but study the rosters and I think the Gamecocks have the edge. Except it aters your run is over: as the ghosts of yesterday said “Get some players”, or I think the party is over. You had your run, now it is our turn; do yourselves a favor, accept, grow-up and show some maturity. We did.
oh tater you make me laugh please dont stop writing in our forum…we the SEC hear it every year but when the SEC conference dominates on the big stage year in and year out with multiple teams and also makes up about 50% of the top ten recruiting class almost every year it just makes me smile when you the acc and every other conference tries to talk smack about us..that not only makes us feel better but it confirms our superiority…GO COCKS…GO SEC!!!
Yeah, he also might face a middle of the pack ACC team and pick them apart in a few years too.
This is not your forum, this is Joe Person’s blog. Are you really that stupid to not know how to access the forum at the bottom left of the gogamecocks page of thestate.com? Come on guys, don’t make ridiculing you this easy. For those of you who can’t comprehend, get someone to help you. I said,”Sure he’ll be playing against some great athletes and great coaches in league play,…” The only one of you who came close to a lucent comment is vehenom, refering to the big win USC had against Clemson this past year, 34-17. And it wasn’t even that close, was it. It was an asswhipping. You must never forget to post that score. Never let the memory of that game die, because you will have to refer to it for years to come. I think you know what I mean, “Remember that time back in 2009? Yea, that was great. What’s his name caught that ball. Yea.” The rest of the idiotic blather is just that. If I wanted to know the conference’s records, I’d go the the SEC website. You people just validate my point. The SEC is generally great. You are USC. You are the laughingstock of the SEC. You have not played in a BCS game(neither has Clemson). You have not challenged for a conference title. You are not a source of pride for the SEC. YOU ARE USC. Back to the point of the blog. Shaw WILL see “SEC speed”, it will be running him down and driving him into the ground every week during conference play. But you can’t live on the accomplishments of other teams in the SEC. YOU ARE USC. AND YOU ALWAYS WILL BE. NO MATTER WHAT CONFERENCE LETS YOU PUT THEIR LOGO ON THE FIELD. BECAUSE EVERYONE NEEDS HOMECOCMING CUPCAKES. Learn to live with that, and your lives will be better.
Taterschokeonchicken, you are something less than a moron. You come onto a USC site and talk trash after your a$$ was handed to you last year on the football field. Why don’t you go try to compensate for your undersized appendage some where else. I don’t get your obsession with us. You need to spend your time on your teams little site propping up your friends small egos instead of comming over here and looking like an idiot.
tater, talk about dribble! That was a full paragraph of nonsense. Everytime one of you clempsux morons post something it reminds me how much 2009 stung you, and is still stinging you. You are right, we will remember that game and we will refer to it. It will be the start of many @sswhoopings as you called it. Your team is screwed, no Spiller, Ford, and Harper will be playing baseball for money. Go away!! The only people that say we are laughingstocks are you pathetic clempsux CHUMPS, who for whatever reason always feel the need to bash us and try and put Carolina down. Talk about having a complex, who continually posts on blogs and Gamecock articles to make theirself feel better? Enough said!
tater – I guess you were extremely proud of the way CowU backed there way into the Asheshe final game, which I believe they lost. Had the other teams in the pathetic conference played at a decent level I would imagine taterville would not have had to watch CU lose. You backed into the championship game and still lost. And yes, 34-17 in 2009 must really upset you and, frankly, it is fun knowing that – lol.
Enough will be said when I say it is said, little robbie cocklover. You know you are not suppose to reply to me, You are suppose to read what I write, grit your teeth, turn garnet red in the face, and pretend the truth of what I say doesn’t really bother you. Yes, the outcome of the game last Nov bothered me. Really bad. A lot. And it was a blowout. Worse than the score indicated. But if you think that losing Spiller and Ford to the NFL means that we will be inferior to USC, that just proves what an idiot you are. Parker may play in the MLB, but our second string QB is just as good. How’s your backup? Oh, that’s right, Joe said he is trying to adjust to “SEC speed.” By watching Florida game film, one presumes. Only you and yours think Clemson is a laughingstock. EVERYONE else knows the chickens are. Do you really think you are right and the rest of the nation is wrong? come on, man. Even you aren’t that dense. I don’t bash you to make myself feel better. I merely try counter the incessant, tiring rant that USC will win the SEC next year, and that you have national respect because steve spurrier is your coach, and your constant living off the accomplisments of other teams in your conference. The SEC is great. You are not. Got it? You haven’t won x number of BCS games. You haven’t won X number of NC. You are a stepping stone for those who have. You are USC. And the saddest part is you believe your official fan website is the comments section of the local paper. Sad. I pity you. So, don’t reply to this comment. Just read it and fume in private. Thank you.
tater – why are you replying to anyone? Your words – “you know you’re not suppose to….”. As far as the nation – both of the major schools in SC are middle of the road except in the eyes of the fans. USC has seldom been a team that could be expected to win more than 8 games in a season partly due to the conference. However, CU has always been picked to win a minimum of 8 each year – not because of the talent but because of the conference; basketball conference with a few good football teams. Spiller, Ford and Parker excelled and most notably Spiller, by himself, helped CU to reach the wins this year. CU was favored but couldn’t produce. USC, on the other hand, isn’t favored and didn’t produce. Read and fume in private. Thank you and have a great day.
tater, you need therapy. I pity you, don’t reply to this comment, just read it and think about it in private, thank you.
TLFC,
Whatever you said to make yourself happy.
BTW, next time if you want to excite yourself, do it in private, please? I just ate my breakfast when I saw your one-man-action-with-lotion all over this blog, eew!
You just can’t fume in private and not respond, huh fred. I’m sure YOU know what you mean with what you wrote. Seems like you’ve got one thing on your mind. Even little robbie never insinuated anything sexual in my post. You’ve seen one up close, haven’t you? Anyway, like I said originally, Shaw will see plenty of team speed against conference opponents, that much cannot be denied. But he will see just as much against most FBS opponents he faces, including CLEMSON, and probably more than than conference foes Vandy, Kentucky, Arkansas, Miss State, etc. I still maintain that Joe was pandering to your superiorty complex with the blog. But you can’t refute that, you can only resort to discussing my private parts as if you are familiar with them. You have proven yourself to be quite the low class idiot. Have a good day, and do not respond, please.
Yeah, the tater laments the lack of a coherent argument while claiming that Clemson, a team that graduated 85% of its offensive production and 15 in the two deep, will be better than team that lost a couple of players and whipped that ass unmercifully. Flawless logic. The same sort of logic that suggests that Boyd, a guy that has never taken a snap, is just as good as the Freshman All-American he is replacing. The mind boogles. Hey, didn’t you say the same thing about another qb this time last year? Where is he now?
Silly taters.
Tater? Got that yeast infection taken care of yet?
insinuating that garcia is more of a physical specimen than shaw because he is sporting a full beard is crazy. garcia’s thick chest and shoulders flow gracefully into his big gut and out of shape butt.
come on, if you are gonna write something try to make it at least half way intelligent!
TLFC,
I feel very sorry about you. How does it feel to jerk all over a blog where you are not welcomed at all?
I guess it is your nature to force yourself to a party that you are clearly not invited at all. The sad part is that you really think your comments are God’s gift to the human kind!
Again with the “jerk off” talk. Is that all you think about all day? You are proving yourself to be one truly disgusting individual. I think it’s a given you can be found in the sexual predator database. You are one sleazy psycho. Anyway, who do you think invited YOU to any party? What party do you think this is? I guess this is the closest you ever get to any “party” now days, what with all the restraining orders and limitations on your movements due to your sexual predator status. Maybe you need to be neutered, to curtail your bad habits and dangerous behavior, like a dog. As for my comments, they aren’t a “gift” to anyone. I just can’t resist pointing out the stupidity displayed by so many of you perverted chickenheads. Shaw (the QB recruit, remember him?) will see plenty of fast defensive players in his career. But they want be all from SEC teams. Why can’t you understand that? The top teams in the SEC DO recruit a larger percentage of fast players than most schools. BUT NOT ALL SEC TEAMS ARE THE TOP TEAMS. AND USC IS CLOSER TO THE BOTTOM. AND ALWAYS WILL BE. You do not deserve the respect reserved for the top teams in the country merely because you play in the SEC. Do you understand, digusting pervert?
won’t, not want
Dear tater,
USC a mediocre SEC team, not a doormat. Clemson is a mediocre ACC team. Got it? No of course you don’t, it’s always 1981 in tatertown.
[...] Shaw, who graduated from Flowery Branch in December in order to enroll at South Carolina early, had a bit of rough outing in his spring debut for Gamecocks last week, according to The State. But coach Steve Spurrier was still complimentary [...]
TLFC, you humor me. I think the only person you’re trying to prove anything to is yourself. I would read your incessant ramblings, but then again I don’t really care to. I have better things to do, like root on my team through thick and thin. I stick with them because I’m a true fan (or what you immaturely call me, a ‘cocklover’). Yes, I’m a huge GAMECOCK FAN and I always will be until the day I die. If you go through living your life with the same attitude you do towards fans on here then you are one sad individual, and I feel sorry for you.
TLFC,
Let’s see, it is a blog about a football player in the USC (not Clemson). It is written in the State web site that is the Columbia, South Carolina newspaper, not Clemson, South Carolina.
So, why would you (a “real” Clemson fan) crash the discussion and the blog over here? Why don’t you just read the Clemson blog instead? Who invited you to read?
You achieve your goal. Your main purpose of dripping all over here is to get attention. Guess what, the majority of the (negative) responses here are on you.
I truly feel sorry for your parents, your relatives, and your family. It must be painful to live with such a know-it-all-holier-than-thou person. They have my deepest sympathy.
From your posting, I doubt that you are even a college graduate. You cannot even provide a coherent thought that make sense. Instead, it is mostly venomous comments, made-up statistics, and false assumption about other people, with mostly run-on sentences.
I learn my mistake. I am stupid to take the bait. I should never wrestle with a pig, I get dirty while the pig loves it.
bong, I agree with you. Clemson is a a mediocre team, in a mediocre FB conference. The point is, you and I can admit that. Most chickenheads can’t. You are the only one who brought up 1981,though, not me. clem, I feel sorry for you, because you lie to yourself, you did read my comment. Why couldn’t you just fume in private, and not respond. If you are a USC fan WHO REALIZES AND CAN ADMIT that USC IS NOT the greatest team in the world, and NOT on the verge of any championship merely because they are in the SEC and spurrier is the coach, then I apoligize for offending you. Now freddiecocklover, you still don’t get it. Who invited you to read anything? You think an awful lot of yourself to think you have an invitation that I don’t. This is the STATE paper! Can you see that? I’m sorry your “USC education” didn’t prepare you to comprehend sentences that are over five words in length. I have stated why I feel compelled to comment on stories about USC. Get someone to read and explain my previous comments to you, idiot. I have also, invited you to either stop reading my comments, or stop replying to them and pretend you are ignoring me, while sitting at your computer turning all shades of garnet because you know I am right about the false sense of superiority complex so prevalent among the gamecock nation. I can assure you I wouldn’t still be commenting here if not for you. And for goodness sake, stop with the “dripping” and “jerking” and “lotion” talk, you sleazeball.
Looks like the QB situation is not looking so good.
Check out this interesting article about BCS QBs.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/359501-the-10-worst-quarterbacks-in-the-bcs-conferences#page/5
The kid’s not even 18 yet so cut him some slack. Besides, what true freshman qb has set the college football world on fire recently? Matt Barkley didn’t. Willy Korn comes to mind.
The tigers are becoming extinct and as November draws near there will be fewer fans buying insurance from Dabo S. 34-17 to be continued.
Don’t think so, Mr Swift. The tradition will be continued, not the anomaly. 1 out of 5 is all you are allowed. William didn’t get his pay increase from State Farm.