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Greenville Leader

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Spurrier gets his due with South Carolina Football Hall of Fame induction

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Lawrence Taylor and Steve Spurrier enjoy a moment togther during a June event. | Steve Spurrier Twitter

Lawrence Taylor and Steve Spurrier enjoy a moment togther during a June event. | Steve Spurrier Twitter

Steve Spurrier, who held the head coaching duties for the South Carolina Gamecocks football team for 10 years, was inducted into the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame last month.

For Spurrier, it was validation that he made the right choice in reinvigorating the university’s football program instead of going back to his old stomping grounds at the University of Florida Gators — where he won a national championship in 1996 — after a coaching stint in the NFL.

"We proved that South Carolina can be relevant in college football," he said. “We can be a top 10 program. It’s not easy, but it is possible. So hopefully, (new head coach) Shane Beamer and these guys can get us there.”

Spurrier came to Columbia and took what he said was his only job offer in 2005. While his exit in 2015 was not how he hoped to leave, he did exit at the top of the win list.

That record-breaking career victory total was helped by three consecutive 11-win seasons (2011-2013).

Former South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw introduced Spurrier, and said he was instrumental in helping open the passing game that is so vital in today’s college game.

"When you think of college football — the history of it, the evolution of the game and all the great people that step on the football field — you think of Coach Spurrier's impact and how that influenced this game in a very grand way," Shaw said in report by The State.

Spurrier, who won the 1966 Heisman Trophy as quarterback with the Gators, cultivated a career that spanned over 55 years in college and professional football, and is one of only four players to be in the College Football Hall of Fame as a player and a coach.

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