By Christopher Aleman The Gamecock (U. South Carolina)
(U-WIRE) COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier made it clear Sunday that he wants to see some changes at USC regarding the university’s admissions policy.
The NCAA Clearinghouse approved two signees from South Carolina’s highly touted 2007 recruiting class, but the university denied them admittance.
Spurrier said he felt he “misled.” Michael Bowman of Wadesboro, N.C. and Arkee Smith of Jacksonville, Fla. when he and his coaching staff allowed them to sign with the Gamecocks on February’s National Signing Day. Spurrier, now in is his third season at South Carolina, said he is not satisfied with the university’s decision.
“I have to apologize to two young men that we recruited,” said Spurrier. “They qualified, they signed with us in February, (and) they were denied admission by our school. Personally, I don’t think that’s the way you do business.”
Spurrier shot down speculation that Bowman and Smith were rejected because the university signed 31 players. Each year, the NCAA allows universities to enroll 25 new scholarship players. In most cases, the extra players either don’t qualify or they greyshirt, which Spurrier said he and his staff had planned to do.
“If we oversign, there’s a perception out there that South Carolina oversigns and they’re just getting rid of guys,” said Spurrier. “That’s not true. We have a plan in place to greyshirt if they all qualify. We were going to do that.”
The coaching staff’s integrity is at stake following these events, as players and coaches from Bowman’s and Smith’s respective areas will be well aware of this situation during the forthcoming recruiting seasons. However, Spurrier said he is in the process of mitigating the damage caused by the situation.
“We’ve suffered a severe blow credibility-wise in North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida,” said the coach. “I’m trying to do what I can to help that right now and to try to restore whatever credibility we can get in those schools.”
Spurrier said he has already discussed a change in policy with University President Andrew Sorensen. He is now in the process of getting the message out that this was a one-time incident.
“As long as I’m the coach here we’re going to take kids that qualify,” said the coach. “If not, then I have to go somewhere else.”
Bowman, a Rivals.com three-star wide receiver, was one of the first players to commit to the Gamecocks. The 5-foot-11-inch, 156-pound prospect of Anson County High School received offers from Colorado and East Carolina, the school at which he will matriculate after being denied admission to USC.
Two-star prospect Smith hails from Jacksonville’s First Coast High School, the same institution that produced fellow 2007 signee Jamire Williams and 2008 commitment Shaq Wilson. The 6-foot-1-inch, 190-pound safety received offers from Cincinnati, South Florida, and Wake Forest.