Why is Syvelle bitter towards USC?
- Thread starter 18IsTheMan
- Start date
He only quarterbacked when Spurrier was forced into it. He was basically in the same boat Joyner is in now, or would have been, if more injuries had happened at the QB position ahead of him. There's still time for that in Joyner's case but it's not something you want to see.
Newton feels he had unrealized potential at that position. I think he also played some while dinged and feels he didn't get due credit for that - or maybe that being dinged was held against him, or maybe that he should have played more in general. His grievances always seemed a little vague to me.
The road less traveled can never be fully assessed. That's the frustrating factor for people like Newton, and possibly one day, Joyner.
Remember those bama fans streaming out of their stadium in 2004 when the tide couldn’t stop Syvelle. He also had a crazy good game vs. Vandy that we won in O.T. at W-B. I guess that was against a Cutler team? He doesn’t have that performance, we don’t win. That was an amazing performance. After his Achilles injury & he came back and played safety for a couple of games. Not a lot of tackles or a pick, but he was always where he was supposed to be. Versatile & a really, really high football I.Q.!!
Sorry to hear he has hard feelings toward South Carolina. Saw Him Walking down Beale Street in Memphis during the Liberty Bowl. He was freindly. Walking down the Street with 2 Girls on his Left and Right Side. Really do appreciate his Contributions Esp the Alabama Game.
He played RB during that Vandy game if I recall correctly. He was a playmaker. I don’t think Syvelle realizes how much the Carolina fanbase loves and appreciates him. He’s definitely one of the all-time favorites when you consider how many players come through here and aren’t remembered. Syvelle Newton is remembered.
Yes, he was an athlete who suffered from a small sample size in college. He would have shown out in other situations.
Syvelle played RB, WR & some QB in '05 until he had that horrible Achilles injury in that Vandy game. He had had a few big games at QB under Lou which may have given him some unrealistic expectations. He was not on Blake Mitchell's level as a pocket passer, but his mobility/dual threat abilities got him several starts in '06 after he came back from the injury. Seems Blake got suspended for taking an underaged girl to a bar?
Against AU in '06 he was the main reason Tuberville did the onside kick in the 3rd qtr. They could not stop Syvelle. He was the first QB like this to play for Steve. I'll always believe this led to Steve getting on board with allowing his QBs to be runner/passers.
It was against Arky a few weeks later where he got benched. Arky figured him out and he just couldn't stand in the pocket and make those throws.
Blake came in started picking Arky apart and won back his starting job. Blake played well throughout the rest of the season. Starting 2 walk-ons on the OL made a big difference. Blake always had a nice touch on his passes and was money on those fades.
We moved Syvelle to defense (allegedly so he could have something to show to NFL scouts). He was in on the famous safety blitz that pushed the taters almost out of field goal range. Then Jad Deen missed and we won.
Syvelle played in one of those post season bowls and got some exposure, but seems most Gamecock fans thought the Achilles injury took too much from his athleticism. He never had the accuracy to be an elite passer so his career was over.
Then diss the team (coach), not the school. Did any professors have it in for him in the classroom?
Perhaps you could try to get word to him whom he ought to be dissing. I'm not agreeing with him on any of this, only positing what might be going through his head.
Most Achilles injuries are horrible, and yes, he had one. I didn't accord that enough weight in my previous post. It was more than being dinged.
A victim of bad timing I suppose. The mobile qb wasnt much of a thing until after he finished. Now players like him get paid, transfer at will... and so on. Factors or not, I guess it's easy to blame the school. Little harder to blame others.
I heard him say on a podcast last season that he could be a head coach by now. I thought he was joking at first, but then he went onto elaborate further and it was clear he wasn't joking. Maybe he's wanted a coaching gig at the school.
For some reason I thought he was brought on as a GA or analyst for a short time.
Edit: looked it up and he was a Graduate Assistant on Spurrier’s staff from Feb 2012 to May 2013.
Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting it to hurt someone else. It eats one up from inside and the other party has no idea.
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Lou brought offense at USC down trying to rediscover the Tony Rice template. It started with Jenkins.
Mitchell was suspended for decking the bouncer at the bar (my kind of qb) but I think the girl was indeed underage.
That move to defense and mainly his subsequent handling at that position caused hard feelings against Spurrier. I don't remember the details now but I listened to an interview with Newton several years back in which he pontificated on that. The situation as Newton described it was such that if his story was correct (and it was supposedly mentioned/questioned by the announcers on air of one of our games late that season) then I could see why there were hard feelings. I think the punishments after the brawl were a sore spot with him as well.
I believe Syvelle's issue is he was close to breaking some records for yardage or something since he played multiple positions - QB, RB, WR, punt return etc - and Spurrier was aware of it and didn't put him in to break the record.
Take it out on the team/coach, not the school. Maybe Syvelle will read this.....
Syvelle, I appreciated the fact that you chose to be a Gamecock but you were a lousy teammate and a bad influence in the locker room. It's 2023, you are ancient history and I don't give a crap what you think about Carolina.
I obviously have no clue what's going in with the dynamic, but the few times I've heard him on Uva's podcast or other places, he just kind of sounds like a guy who's had a hard time moving on from being a D-I athlete. I know a lot of guys suffer from "what if?" and feel they could have gone pro if they'd been given a fair shake. Not sure if that's his issue or if he had hopes this his playing career would open doors for him in coaching that haven't opened up.
He played in one of those all-star/Sr bowl type games. If you show out, you get noticed. He was no Randall Cobb.
True. Forgot about that. And, if it's the coaching aspect, if he really wanted into coaching as he's suggested in the past, do what many other guys do. Work your way up the ladder.
Correct- imagine what Blake could have done if he could have had the playing time with Skip as OC.
Lou let’s Skip know he’s no longer the OC on a radio interview and he’s taking over.
Lou should have let Skip continue to be the OC. Let Blake be the QB. Newton would have worked himself into the next Brewer in the slot and RB that had speed and moves.
But that is the woulda coulda shoulda history of SC FB
Wut?
Blake was 4th on the depth chart his RS FR year/Lou's last year. Dondrial Pinkins, Syvelle, & Michael Rathe were ahead of him. Blake was a RS Soph when he started for Steve in '05.
You missed the major part of my comment.
Lou was running the offense the last two years he was at SC
Skip was a much better OC and we had a better offense with him as the OC
The only claim to fame I can remember about
Pinkins was he didn’t use the laces when passing the ball.
If Skip was the OC, BM would have been able to show his ability and maybe grow more in a friendlier pass oriented offense
Lou running dive left, dive right - now it’s 3rd down we will “attempt” a pass. This wasn’t the offense for BM. We were lucky he stuck around
Last item, several teams have shown us over the last few years Senior status means nothing if a true freshman or RS freshman has the skills but they also need the right type of offense to show it