Kinder, gentler Ball Coach?

COLUMBIA — Maybe it's because of the holiday season. Or maybe it's because he's maturing in his golden years.

But Steve Spurrier again took the high road, failing Sunday to return verbal fire toward Tennessee and new coach Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin said Saturday he didn't care if he ruffled feathers by plucking assistant coaches from Spurrier's staff at South Carolina. (Quarterbacks coach David Reaves and strength coach Mark Smith so far.)

Kiffin, the 33-year-old hired Dec. 1 to replace Phillip Fulmer, also let Spurrier know he got a 39 out of 40 on his NCAA certification test.

The backstory there: Prior to Kiffin's formal introduction, Spurrier had wondered out loud whether Kiffin had taken the test to be able to recruit.

"I'd like to see what he got," Kiffin said Saturday.

So what'd the Ball Coach get?

"I have always passed it," said Spurrier, the 63-year-old Florida graduate. "Nah, I know he's smarter than me. There's no question about that. I barely graduated from college. I know I'm not the smartest guy out there. No big deal."

Spurrier also bit his tongue when asked a couple of weeks back about Reaves, who stood accused of recruiting negatively against Spurrier and the Gamecocks.

"I don't need to talk about all that," he said just after USC's bowl announcement.

Behind closed doors, though, sources have said Spurrier was peeved about Reaves' behavior on the recruiting trail.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, USC plays at UT on Halloween in 2009.

Auguste out

Not much use with a bad hamstring, freshman defensive back Akeem Auguste has already gone home to South Florida for Christmas. He'll re-join the team in Tampa, but Spurrier said Auguste would be sidelined for 4-6 weeks and is out for the game.

"We let him go ahead and get on home," Spurrier said. "He tried to come back too early and he kept hurting it. So he's gone."

Auguste's injured further complicates the loss of starting strong safety Emanuel Cook. If he were healthy, Auguste, who projects as a corner down the road, would've seen a lot of snaps there.

Jeanpierre returns

Guard Lem Jeanpierre, who's been out since the Nov. 1 Tennessee game with a knee injury, practiced some Sunday.

"Yeah, he was out here pushing and shoving some," Spurrier said.

Spurrier said he'd "dress out" for the Outback Bowl. Interim offensive line coach Cedric Williams said he's hopeful he'll have Jeanpierre in some capacity.

"He had his regular uniform on, which is a good sign," Williams said. "I hope (he can play). Time will tell."

Williams said he's still unsure if there will be any personnel moves. He said it's still too early in bowl preparations to make that determination.

Talking Tebow

Spurrier mentioned twice Sunday he'd like to hear Stephen Garcia sound a little more like Florida's Tim Tebow.

"I'd like for him to have that Tim Tebow attitude," Spurrier said, with a nod toward the Heisman winner's impassioned speech following the Gators' only loss of the season, early in the year.

"That 'nobody's going to work as hard as I am.' If Stephen Garcia says that, tap me on the shoulder. He's got to learn how to work at it himself."

Spurrier repeated the part about Tebow less than a minute later.

The bowl will be played in Garcia's hometown of Tampa, Fla. The Gamecocks will practice at Jefferson High, where Garcia starred.

"Really, he should be up to start the bowl game as a redshirt freshman. Not many quarterbacks get to do that," Spurrier said. "I'm just trying to get him to learn his plays better."

— Travis Haney