USC started spring football practice today and I noticed right off the bat that QB Stephen Garcia was not present. Most of the people I was talking to all felt the same, he probably had a late class or test he had to take. It’s not unusual for players to show up late for practice during the spring due to schedule conflicts.

Of course everyone learned later that Garcia was suspended for a week of practice due to breaking team rules. Backup QB Andrew Clifford is also suspended for the first week of practice. DB Victor Hampton missed practice because of some academics he had to take care of. Coach Spurrier said the team violation Garcia committed happened earlier and they were just getting around to doing something about it.

I personally have been taking up for Garcia. I feel he is the best QB we have right now and the job is his unless he really goes backwards. He has been taking a beating around town on some radio talk shows and a lot of the on field criticism I feel is not justified. He makes some bad decisions some times but so do about 99% of college quarterbacks across the nation. Some people just love to blame the QB for all the teams problems.

Talk show host Corey Miller has really been beating Garcia up about his leadership. I am sure he will have a field day on his show Wednesday after learning of the latest suspension. I tend to agree with some others that Garcia is a pretty good college QB. I actually think he is better than most give him credit for. But he has to stay on the field and out Spurriers doghouse or he will be on the bench. At least until Connor Shaw starts making mistakes.

As far as practice it’s hard to tell much by watching in shorts. Everybody was running around and looking good. That will change when the defense starts hitting. All the receivers looked good in shorts. Saturday morning there will be a scrimmage at 10:00 am. I will be looking for better play out of our defensive backfield and I want to see how our inside linebackers are coming along.

Mike Norris