Insult to Contemporary SMU Football

[Cheesesteak]

Notebook: Fulmer, Spurrier throw rocks from glass houses

April 19, 2005
By Dennis Dodd
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer

The insult-comic coach duo of Fulmer and Spurrier last week reminded us again that college football is a year-round sport.

There's the regular season, winter conditioning, spring practice and the silly season. This is the time of year when players have too much time on their hands. And you know what they say about idle hands ...

Tennessee's Phil Fulmer and South Carolina's Steve Spurrier took much publicized shots at each other last week that deflected attention from the real issue. If this were, say, SMU and Fresno State they would be running out-of-control programs. Since it's Spurrier and Fulmer, call them only borderline out-of-control programs.

Yes, Lou Holtz's squad had character issues when Spurrier inherited the program after last season. The school held the program out of a bowl game after a fight with Clemson. Much of what has occurred since then -- 11 arrests since January -- can be attributed to Holtz carryovers.

Still, Spurrier is in charge now (at least of the offense). The latest incident: Two players were charged early Sunday with marijuana possession. Not part of that 11-player blotter: Last year's leading rusher was kicked out for a second failed drug test.

There have been other incidents.

"If you want to read about some full-blown fights," Spurrier said last week, "read about the Tennessee players, not our guys."

Fulmer has seen 11 of his players arrested since February 2004. Four were charged with assault last week. Fulmer has kicked three players off the team, while others have been made to do early morning running and community service.

Anyone else notice the possibility for 11-on-11? Throw prison garb on them and you'd have The Longest Yard.

Anyway, Fulmer doesn't want to take away playing time in the fall because it "punishes everybody including the coaches and the fans."

Here's a novel idea, Phil. It shouldn't be your -- or any other coach's -- call anyway. Not to beat a dead soapbox, at some level coaches should be removed from the discipline process. OK, we hear you muttering, "It seems like they already are." But that's why there are administrators who, theoretically at least, are these coaches' bosses.

Spurrier on Monday made a spectacularly unwise statement that was buried at the bottom of a wire story about the two players caught with dope.

"Those guys don't deserve to be talked about. We're giving them too much attention around here. Neither one of them have been a starter, never made a significant play for Carolina," Spurrier said.

No big deal, they're only scrubs, right? Come talk to the Ol' Ball Coach when a starter gets in trouble. Presumably presidents and athletic directors would have better perspective, if there wasn't the nagging fact that many times they are deferring to the highest-paid person on campus -- the coach.

"He needs to take care of his own house and leave mine alone," Fulmer said of Spurrier adding, "He's got plenty of issues over there, I'm sure, to deal with .... It doesn't bother me one bit ... maybe it rained that day and he didn't get to play golf."

For the record, that's a combined $3.55 million in salaries trying to channel Don Rickles. Hilarious if this was the Tonight Show. Insulting if you are parents or the president at either school.

Or it should be.

Basically, both coaches are saved from being called on the carpet by extenuating circumstances -- most notably their winning percentages. Winning football trumps just about any off-field troubles.

South Carolina is still wrapped up in the euphoria of getting Spurrier. Fulmer has an extension, a $2.3 million annual salary and that 1998 national championship to fall back on.

The Gamecocks are expected to get up off the mat and at least be entertaining with Spurrier's offense. The Vols should be favored to win the SEC this year, so anything upsetting the delicate balance of nature, especially discipline, could be frowned upon.

Especially since, hey, boys will be boys. Ask Pete Carroll. That's basically the way he summarized receiver Steve Smith allegedly breaking the jaw of Southern Cal teammate Dominique Byrd over a video game. At least it was something important ...

"It's like being a parent," Carroll said. "We try to do everything we can to make it clear to them how they should operate. You are never really at ease."

So is this a case of negligent parents? For sheer volume this is one of the worst offseasons in recent memory for off-field problems. The stain hasn't escaped the champion Trojans. It is one program where offseason problems could bring the program down. "Down" defined as wrecking a chance for a third consecutive national championship.

Carroll intimated last week at the end of spring practice that academic problems could be more serious than first thought. Defensive linemen Frostee Rucker and Manny Wright, tailback LenDale White and tight end Byrd were listed at or near the bottom of the depth chart because of academic issues.

"It's going to be a challenge to get all the guys back," Carroll said.

Star cornerback Eric Wright has been accused of rape and is to be arraigned this week. There is a good chance Carroll might have to start a true freshman in Wright's place if he never returns.

That's five potential starters not being around.

"For anyone to think that any coach at any level does not care about it, they just don't get it," Carroll said. "It's like parenting. You are always afraid that something is going to go in the wrong direction. We always take the hit when something bad happens."

Deservedly. No one said coaches didn't care about their players. It's just in cases of breaking the law they shouldn't be disciplining them. There has to be some accountability, beyond media sniping, to go along with all those millions.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive has what seems like the unrealistic goal of having all 12 schools off probation by 2007. That seems like an easy goal compared to eliminating all offseason bar brawls, assaults and arrests.

[me@smu]

Am I slow because I am not seeing the insult?

It seems they are saying that if this type of behavior happened at SMU, NCAA would deem it an out of control program, but since it happened to the high and mighty then no problems.

Isn't that exactly what we have said in many threads on this board?

[Cheesesteak]

SMU was in a past era an out-of-control program and SMU paid a heavy price. Subsequently, SMU reformed and now runs one of the cleanest football programs in D-1A.

When you have paid your debt to the NCAA and reformed/rehabilitated yourself then you don't want your name linked to contemporary problems elsewhere.

Knowledgable college football fans realize that a program's status determines if they are treated as royalty or as a serf by the NCAA.

In my opinion, the author could have made his point without inserting SMU's name into the article.

[me@smu]

Thanks for the lesson on knowledgeable football fans and the history of SMU...both of which I am well aware.

Point is, the author was mentioning our name as NCAA scapegoats, unjustly being hounded and criticized for little problems. It was actually a barb on the NCAA and their policy of letting the big programs off easy.

Classic example is when Alabama was being investigated a few years back and their defense against getting the death penalty was reciting our record from post DP and claiming that NCAA can't do that to Alabama football.

Author could have made his point by mentioning a thousand little programs, however, people can relate to SMU because they have read about our DP struggles. I think it adds something to mention two major programs along with the only DP school, it has more force than saying that South Carolina is acting like east carolina.

[NavyCrimson]

me@smu, welcome to the world of ncaa football and the 'typical' sportswriter -

[No Quarter]

IMO it was a pretty sloppy article. SMU reference or no. Carolina is said to have had eleven players in trouble since January and Tennessee eleven since February 2004 - much more than twice as long. And recognizable reference to the DP school, SMU, or not, I don't see how you can equate individuals getting in trouble with a program being called to task for violations. I guess that is why some journalists are sportswriters.

For the record, how many SMU athletes have been arrested on charges similar to those described in the last two months or fifteen months for that matter? I don't remember a lot over that time frame, and assume that with TCU folk eager to point out pony transgressions it would have been aired on ponyfans...

[EastStang]

During the "out of control" years, we paid players, we gave them apartments, we gave them cars, but there were no academic irregularities and no thugs accused of anything that has ever been aired. There were no such reports of anything like that in the NCAA report. Sloppy reporting in my view. Why didn't he mention Ricky "one toke over the line" Williams, Cedric Benson and UT.

[PlanoStang]

Maybe we should change our mascot name to the Scapegoats like the Funky Winkerbean cartoon? It would be a great way to stuff it up the NCAA



Go Lobos! Beat those Scapegoats!

[SWC2010]

During the "out of control" years, we paid players, we gave them apartments, we gave them cars, but there were no academic irregularities and no thugs accused of anything that has ever been aired. There were no such reports of anything like that in the NCAA report. Sloppy reporting in my view. Why didn't he mention Ricky "one toke over the line" Williams, Cedric Benson and UT.

Good call, EastStang. Out-of-control Alumni was the problem then; now, it's players drug use. You hafta wonder how much of this present day fighting, etc. is brought on by the use of steriods

[EastStang]

While listening over the weekend to some draft coverage, there was some Georgia linebacker who apparently missed a test because he was stoned. He was upset because he was graded down for missing the test. His quote sums it all up, "what was I supposed to do, it was my birthday". You gotta love the SEC.