What Mike Furrey plans to bring to South Carolina's wide receiver room
Newly hired South Carolina wide receiver coach Mike Furrey has a vision of what he wants his positional group to look like. A vision that he shared on Friday when he met with the Columbia media for the first time.
“There’s three things that I’ve built myself on. It’s what’s called a method and I’ve carried it with me my entire life,” said Furrey. “The first thing that’s guaranteed is effort. When you go out there and watch us run around it’s not going to be shy of effort. It’s not going to be shy of exhausting ourselves for a better purpose and that’s our team. We’ll practice like that, we’ll play like that, we’ll run routes like that. There will always be a purpose but there will always be maximum effort behind that, and that’s in everything that we do… when you give maximum effort, that means it’s important. You’re telling someone that it’s important to you. I’ll talk to our guys all the time about giving 110 percent. Give more than the normal. Become rare.”
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Coming from DII Limestone, where Furrey spent the past two years as head coach of the Saints, he brings along a unique perspective. Not only as a former head coach but as a former professional player as well.
A former NFL wide receiver, Furrey played a combined eight years in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams, the Detroit Lions, the Cleveland Browns, and the then known Washington Redskins. His best season in the NFL came during the 2006 season with the Lions when he led the NFC with 98 receptions to go with 1,086 yards and seven touchdowns. It’s with that knowledge, along with his next key that he hopes to help wide receivers take their game to the next level the same way he was able to.
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“Goal-oriented, and I call that level up. I’ll talk to our guys every day about goals that we want to reach. Goals for now, goals for the team, individual goals and how we get there. To me, when you become goal-oriented that’s gonna make sure that you’re locked in our your goal and that becomes your discipline. Your discipline in your route running, your discipline in your studies, your discipline in your academics, your discipline in whatever it is anytime we take the field.”
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In addition to playing in the NFL, Furrey spent four seasons as a wide receiver coach with the Chicago Bears from 2018-21. So he knows first-hand what it takes to not only be successful enough to play in the NFL but what a room needs to look like in order for individuals to help the team be better.
“Through all those things what evolves is a great teammate. When you become a great teammate you become a great group. And when you become a great group, now you become pretty lethal. All those things hit and they’re all self-explanatory and they’re easy to manage every single day. But, I don’t think you live any different. If you do live any different then I think you’re wasting what the Good Lord has blessed you with. If you’re gonna waste that, then I’m gonna get after you.”
