When Steve Spurrier Talks People Listen

There are some football coaches that people look forward to listening to. Bill Parcells was always great for a sound bite or two; so is Rex Ryan. Bill Belichick's press conferences are almost as fun because of how well he says something while saying nothing. 

However, if you want substance and entertainment value all rolled in to one there is no one better than the Ole Ball Coach--South Carolina's Steve Spurrier.

@SDS/Twitter

Whether it's trolling Clemson like a champ or accusing other schools of bashing South Carolina to recruits Spurrier can be described as 'never a dull moment.' It could be easy to dismiss him too because of all the trash talk, but if you did you would miss out on one of the better--and honest--football minds of the modern era.

So when he talked about a couple of his players on NFL AM what he said should not come as a surprise. As could be expected the two players that garnered the most interest were defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and quarterback Connor Shaw.

When it came to Clowney Spurrier didn't say anything fans don't already know when it came to his production. Yes, it was down last season, but when offenses game plan for you it is going to be pretty hard to put up big numbers.

What the internet/media has been focusing on in regards to Clowney were Spurrier's comments on his work ethic(via PFT):

 “He was OK. It wasn’t like Marcus Lattimore, you know, every player is a little different,” Spurrier said. “His work habits are pretty good, they’re not quite like Lattimore, maybe Stephon Gilmore, Melvin Ingram, some of those guys, but when the ball is snapped he’s got something no one else has.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it isn't a bad one. If he is in the right environment (like say in Houston with a guy like J.J. Watt) he is still young enough to develop one.

When it came to Shaw though he couldn't paint a better picture (via BSO)

“Connor’s just a winner. He’s a lot like Russell Wilson. He takes care of the ball, doesn’t do stupid stuff, doesn’t take careless sacks, he can throw it away, and he’s really a good passer. Any time you see a guy who can run as well as Connor you don’t think he’s that good of a passer....The kid is a winner, he can run with it and he can throw.”

Some folks might say that he is biased, and as a coach of these guys maybe he should be. If that was the case though you would expect to hear him sing Clowney's praises more than he did.

No, what we got here is an honest assessment of talent.

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