Spurrier: 'No reason' to tweet

COLUMBIA -- Another college football coach, Pittsburgh's Todd Graham, has banned his team from using Twitter during the season. South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, who made the same decision last month, explained his reasoning Tuesday on the nationally syndicated Dan Patrick Show.

"There's no reason for our guys to tweet or Twitter anything out there," Spurrier said. "I don't see how it could do any good for anybody. A couple of guys put some sort of nasty stuff on there in the summer.

"So we said you don't need to do that anymore. Let your girlfriend or your pal down the street do all the tweeting or whatever it is."

Critics of coaches banning the social medium say they're giving up on the players rather than educating them. In particular, CNBC's Darren Rovell has actively tweeted his disdain for coaches making the decision to ban Twitter.

The tube

While speaking with Patrick, Spurrier also groused about Alabama getting favorable treatment from ESPN, relative to the other teams in the SEC. He said he even mentioned it to league commissioner Mike Slive.

ESPN was on Alabama's campus for an All-Access program during preseason camp a year ago. (It's at Oklahoma this year for the behind-the-scenes program.) It also ran an ad featuring fans saying "Roll Tide" during the bowl season.

"I said, 'How much did Alabama pay those guys to do that?'" Spurrier said, recalling his conversation with Slive. "He said, 'Oh, they didn't have to pay them anything.' I said, 'Well, what happened to Go Gators or Rocky Top or Go Gamecocks?' I didn't think that was all that fair."

The topic came up when Spurrier hinted he didn't think Texas' new Longhorn Network, affiliated with ESPN, was necessarily fair for the rest of the Big 12.

"Since we're pretty far away from it," Spurrier said, "I don't really have to worry about it."

Kicking into gear

Spurrier said Tuesday that Jay Wooten will be the team's kicker for field goals and extra points. He'll likely handle kickoffs, as well. Spurrier said the punting job is still open, though Patrick Fish is still the favorite.

As a result of that news, Spurrier said Wooten, a senior from Laurinburg, N.C., would be placed on scholarship.

Word of warning

Spurrier quickly backed that up by saying walk-ons who are awarded scholarships are only given one-year deals. Slive mentioned this summer trying to change that, to Spurrier's chagrin. When former Gamecock Bryce Sherman's scholarship was not renewed earlier in the summer, Sherman voiced frustration, saying he was "cut" from the team.

Some media members ran with the story, in which Sherman, a former walk-on who came to USC to run track, worked to paint himself as a victim.

"When people say they can't play and we're getting rid of them, they're telling a fabricated story," Spurrier said Tuesday. "The walk-on kids that get scholarships know they're (for) one year. If they're not renewed, they're supposed to know that."

Another award list candidate

Junior end Devin Taylor was one of 35 players Tuesday named to the Hendricks Award list, given to the top defensive end in the country.

Taylor, a 6-7, 260-pounder from Beaufort, is a first-team All-SEC selection following a 2010 season that included 7 1/2 sacks.

Injury report

Brad Lawing's defensive line is a bit depleted this week. Chaz Sutton, Byron Jerideau and Travian Robertson all sat out practice Tuesday. Robertson could miss another week with a hamstring injury.

For more on South Carolina football, go to postandcourier.com/gamecocks.