MIAWM: Why Stephen Garcia believes LaNorris Sellers can be an all-time Gamecock great

This week’s guest on Mix in a Water Monday is former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia. Garcia played for the Gamecocks from 2007-2011 and led USC to its lone SEC East title in 2010. He resides in his hometown of Lutz, Florida, where he trains young quarterbacks through a company he created in 2012 called Spin-It Athletics.

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Uva: What’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed with LaNorris Sellers from where he was Week 1 to where he is now?

Garcia: The biggest thing that I’ve seen, and I’ve told this to everybody, is that he’s keeping his eyes down range. He’s not looking at the first option and taking off and running. He’s moving around the pocket, trying to get the ball to his playmakers’ hands. The game has slowed down for him. The game has significantly slowed down for him and the kid is going to be an absolute problem for defenses these next few years.

Uva: How much of that do you credit to the experience he’s been able to gain?

Garcia: To be frank, when you’re a freshman, you’re kind of a moron. Like, you have no idea what the heck you’re doing. You have literally no idea what you’re doing. You kind of just live and die by the sword, and you continue to do that. But I mean, it’s the best thing in the history of sports. Playing QB in the SEC, I think about it all the time, and I miss it every day. Being with the guys in the locker room, talking ball, talking (junk). There’s nothing better than that.

Uva: Aside from a fumble in the first quarter, I thought Sellers played another really good game. Should we be concerned about the number of fumbles he’s had this year or does that just go back to the process of developing a young QB?

Garcia: At the end of the day, he’s a redshirt freshman. He was playing high school football two years ago, and that’s part of the game. That’s part of the growing process. It’s part of the entire operation because he’s getting developed. I think he’s head and shoulders above where I was at his age, off and on the field. I’m super pumped about him. The fumbles? That happens. The picks? That happens. The sliding is what I cannot deal with. I’m tired of seeing him slide. He’s way too big of a freaking person to slide. He’s got to stop that, in my opinion. I mean, you got the other guys out there fighting their (tails) off. Maybe fight for the extra yard. I know that’s what I did, and guys like (Marcus) Lattimore did, too. We’d fight for that extra yard.

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Uva: That’s interesting that you bring that up because I’m sure a lot of people are thinking the complete opposite and would like to see him slide more. If he doesn’t slide, are you worried that those hits will add up?

Garcia: Grab your (you know what) and do your job. You’re the most important person on the team. Everyone in that locker room, the fans, the community, everyone is looking at you. I just think that’s something he could excel at because he’s shown that he can run guys over. He’s grown leaps and bounds since that first game, and being able to extend plays with his legs plays a big part in that. I’m telling you right now, he’s going to be on the Mount Rushmore of South Carolina football greats.

Uva: What’s that dynamic like for a new quarterback with his offensive coordinator? Did you feel like over time Steve Spurrier Jr., or coach Steve Spurrier, started to adjust the play-calling to fit your strengths?

Garcia: To be honest with you, I don’t think I can answer that. Coach Spurrier was gonna run what he wanted to run. He was one of a kind. You can ask Conner Shaw, Dylan Thompson, Perry Orth, Blake Mitchell, or anyone that played for that guy. There was no co-offensive coordinator. He knew what he wanted to run, and if you couldn’t do it, then next man up. It’s a great question, and I wish I could answer it a little bit better, but Spurrier wasn’t like Dowell Loggains. He wasn’t like anybody else. It was his way, and that’s what he was going to do.  

Uva: Rocket Sanders scored three touchdowns on Saturday. As a quarterback, how much easier does that make your job, and how much can that open up the rest of your offense when a guy like that gets going?

Garcia: We had a pretty good one when I was playing with Marcus Lattimore. So, yeah, it changes the entire dynamic of your play-calling deal. You have defenders that are worried about him, so they’re scooting up into the box, and he’s still getting five to six or ten yards or taking it to the house. A good running back changes the entire landscape of not only the offensive play-calling but the team in general.

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Uva: You played with some talented defensive players, and you also played against a lot of talented defenses, so you know what elite looks like on that side of the ball. How impressed have you been with what South Carolina’s defense has been able to do this year?

Garcia: I’m extremely impressed. We just had DJ (Swearinger) and Melvin (Ingram) and Pharaoh Cooper on our podcast last week, and we were talking about that. That was the most significant thing that I remember when we played. There was nobody better that we played against other than our own team. When you have guys like (Jadeveon) Clowney, Melvin, Clifton Geathers, Stehpon Gilmore, Antonio Allen, Darian Stewart, I mean, those are guys that played a long time in the NFL. When you do that, the games are somewhat easy. That’s what made us great, and I think that’s what Coach (Shane) Beamer has got going on right now. These guys are playing with their hair on absolute fire.

Uva: You mentioned Beamer. What is it about him that you believe has helped this team stay together even when there were some bumps earlier in the year? 

Garcia: I’ll tell you what, Mike. It is a very, very simple answer. It’s about absolute passion. The guy had passion when he was coaching DBs years ago when he was an assistant here. He had passion when he was a recruiting coordinator. His entire being is and has always been passion, and he’s carried that with him throughout his stops at various colleges. He picked up some other things when he was along that ride. It’s infectious, man. It really is. When you have a coach that actually gives a (crap) about the players. If you’re passionate, we’re gonna fight like hell to play for you. With this group, you can see that. It’s clear as day. I can see it through the freaking TV, and I feel like fans can see that as well.

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