Published: Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009 / Updated: Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009 07:45 AM

Expect the Gamecocks' football team to rely more on the run in '09

We are about to witness the rebirth of Steve Spurrier's offense at South Carolina, and it is due in no small part to Spurrier's recognition that his sputtering engine needs an overhaul.

Less than a month after an embarrassing performance by his offense in the Outback Bowl, Spurrier said it will take on a new look next season. All indications are that the Cock 'n' Fire offense that crashed and burned the past four seasons could become the Run 'n' Stun.

"We're looking for some new ideas, maybe some new ways to block, and schemes and so forth," Spurrier said Tuesday from Nashville, Tenn., where he is attending the national coaches convention. "I'm eyeing these guys for their input. I'm open for new ideas and a better way to do things."

The guys Spurrier referred to are new assistant coaches Eric Wolford and G.A. Mangus. Wolford will coach the offensive line and has been named the "running-game coordinator." Mangus will be the quarterbacks coach, although the plural part of his title probably can be removed because USC likely will use only one quarterback next season, Stephen Garcia.

After four less-than-stellar seasons from his offensive line, Spurrier let coach John Hunt go at the conclusion of the regular season. Hunt was not as much the problem as was USC's tired blocking schemes, which forced linemen to retreat on just about every snap.

"Our line coach and our quarterbacks coach, they've got a track record for running the ball very well, especially Eric Wolford," said Spurrier, noting that Wolford coached at Illinois in 2007 when it led the Big Ten in rushing. "Shoot, yes, we're going to tap into his ideas and, hopefully, get (the running game) going."

USC fans can hope the Gamecocks learn to occasionally push the defense off the line of scrimmage. There is no mistaking that USC's running game has been stuck in neutral for most of Spurrier's four seasons here. His teams have ranked 11th, sixth, 12th and 12th in the SEC in rushing. The rushing attack ground to a halt this past season, when USC averaged 94 yards per game.

"When you're bottom of the league in rushing two years in a row," Spurrier said, "we've got to do something differently around here."

It is imperative that USC run the ball to take some of the pressure off Garcia. Throughout this past season -- and probably in 2005 and 2007 as well -- far too much of the offense's production began and ended with the quarterback. Essentially, the passing game set up the running game.

"Certainly, certainly," Spurrier said emphatically when asked if a sound running game will ease the pressure on Garcia to succeed with his arm. "If you can run the ball, certainly. You look back at most of our big victories, we didn't throw the ball over 30 times."

In its 16-12 win against No. 11 Georgia in 2007, USC completed 20 of 31 passes for 314 yards while running 34 times for 140 yards. In its 30-22 win against No. 12 Florida in 2005, USC completed 7 of 17 passes for 126 yards while running 36 times for 120 yards.

The one season under Spurrier in which the offense clicked was 2006. Not coincidentally, that was the season USC averaged 144 yards per game on the ground. Of course, that also was the season Syvelle Newton started seven games as a dual-threat quarterback.

Spurrier said he plans to better utilize Garcia's running ability this year. Garcia has shown he can make all the throws required of a quarterback in Spurrier's system. He also has proved he could benefit from a package of plays out of the shotgun in which he reads the defense and finds a running lane.

"I would hope he could run five to seven to eight times a game, maybe effectively and protect the ball much better," Spurrier said. "So we're going to train him how to run with the ball a little bit more securely and running forward, not sideways.

"He needs a lot of training, then, hopefully, he'll be the quarterback we believe he can be."

Garcia could benefit most from having Mangus as his private coach. Mangus was hired to replace David Reaves. But Spurrier made it clear that Mangus' duties will entail more than signaling plays from the sideline to the quarterback, as Reaves did.

There was an obvious disconnect this past season between Spurrier and Garcia, and Spurrier occasionally went public with his criticism of the young quarterback. Spurrier said having Mangus in charge of quarterbacks will allow the new coach to spend more time in the video room with Garcia.

"G.A. knows how I teach them," Spurrier says. "I'm still overlooking the offense and the quarterbacks, but I'd really like for Stephen Garcia to answer to G.A., then the whole team answers to me maybe a little bit more than in the past."

As a result of the Wolford and Mangus hirings, Spurrier has delegated virtually all of his coaching on offense to assistants. That is a huge swing from when he arrived at USC and took full control of the offense, from teaching quarterback techniques to calling plays, which he has turned over to Steve Spurrier Jr.

A third season of having an offense that sputters nearly every week will do that to even the most legendary of coaches. Full credit goes to Spurrier for recognizing he needed to relinquish many of the coaching duties, and for entrusting the leadership of the offense to his assistants.

USC's offense has to be better under Spurrier's new system. It certainly can't be worse.