6 Reasons South Carolina Football Is Primed for Huge Year in 2012

In 2012, the University of South Carolina football program hopes to build on arguably its most successful season in the school's history. In 2011, the Gamecocks won a school-record 11 games and earned the No. 9 ranking in the AP final poll.

As a member of the SEC, South Carolina plays a very difficult schedule which proves the Gamecocks’ success is not a fluke. The program has Steve Spurrier to thank; since his term as head coach began in 2005, South Carolina has not finished a season with a losing record.

The college football world expects the Gamecocks to build on its historic 2011 season as well. Athlon Sports has ranked South Carolina No. 10 in its preseason poll.

Let’s take a look at six reasons why many consider South Carolina to be one of 2012’s elite college football teams.

Marcus Lattimore's Return

Rising junior running back Marcus Lattimore missed the last six games of the 2011 season, including the 2012 Capital One Bowl, with a knee injury. If he stays healthy this season, he will surely challenge for the Doak Walker Award.

Despite missing half the 2011 season, Lattimore led the team in yards from scrimmage and touchdowns from scrimmage. This shows how heavily head coach Steve Spurrier relied on Lattimore.

Lattimore was on pace to surpass all of his totals from 2010, when he ran the ball 249 times for 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns as a true freshman. With wide receiver Alshon Jeffery now in the NFL, expect Lattimore to carry more of the offensive load for South Carolina.

Remember, the Gamecocks went 11-2 in 2011 without having Lattimore for the second half of the season.

Quarterback Stability

Stephen Garcia has finished his college football career. Therefore, Connor Shaw has cemented himself as the starting quarterback of the Gamecocks in 2012.

The University of South Carolina football program dismissed Garcia from the team on Oct. 11, 2011. The quarterback, who led the Gamecocks to the 2010 SEC East division championship, was suspended from the team five times throughout his career.

Following the dismissal, head coach Steve Spurrier said:

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We all feel like we’ve given Stephen numerous opportunities to be a student-athlete here at South Carolina. Obviously, he has chosen not to follow the guidelines of his reinstatement contract. We wish him the best.

"

The quarterback who replaced Garcia in 2011, Connor Shaw, enters his first full season as the starter. Shaw, a rising junior and a dual-threat quarterback, threw for 1,448 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. He also ran for 525 yards and eight touchdowns.

According to Athlon Sports, quarterback coach G.A. Mangus used spring practices to improve Shaw’s pocket presence.

South Carolina will start this season as a one-quarterback team, so the offense should improve upon its 2011 production.

Balanced Offense

South Carolina's head coach Steve Spurrier established himself as a premier college football coach with his Fun n’ Gun offense, which relied heavily on the passing game. In Spurrier’s current offensive system, though, one could replace the word gun with run.

According to Athlon Sports, the Gamecocks ran the ball almost twice as often at they passed in 2011. As a result, they averaged 192.1 rushing yards per game compared to 181.5 passing yards per game.

Marcus Lattimore’s abilities at running back and Connor Shaw’s abilities as a dual-threat quarterback have a lot to do with the new philosophy. The utilization of these weapons in conjunction with Spurrier’s famed passing attack will cause problems for opposing defenses in 2012.

Jadeveon Clowney

Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is a rising sophomore and already one of the nation’s best at the position. Phil Steele has placed Clowney on his 2012 Preseason All-American Fourth Team at defensive end.

Clowney entered South Carolina in 2011 as the No. 1 overall high school recruit. As a freshman, Clowney had 12 tackles for loss, eight sacks and five forced fumbles.

This season, Clowney will not play in the shadow of Melvin Ingram, the 18^th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. With rising senior Devin Taylor at the other defensive end spot, though, the Gamecocks should still get a lot of pass-rushing production from Clowney.

Top 25 Recruiting Classes

Virtually everyone on South Carolina’s roster in 2012 comes from the top-25 recruiting classes in their respective years, according to ESPNU.

Head coach Steve Spurrier hauled in the No. 12 class in 2009, the No. 23 class in 2010, the No. 15 class in 2011 and the No. 16 class in 2012.

The Gamecocks picked up the best player in South Carolina for all four years: Stephon Gilmore (2009), Marcus Lattimore (2010), Jadeveon Clowney (2011) and Shaq Roland (2012). It is good for the program that the Gamecocks have drawn the Palmetto State's best talent and not intrastate rival Clemson University and other schools in the SEC and ACC.

Thanks to the outstanding 2011 season, South Carolina already has the No. 16 class for 2013. These rankings could change during the 2012 season, but another strong showing from the Gamecocks should keep their class ranking around the top 15 come National Signing Day.

Steve Spurrier

When South Carolina hired Steve Spurrier as the head football coach prior to the 2005 season, the school knew it was getting one of the best.

South Carolina has not finished a season with a losing record under Spurrier. The Gamecocks have been ranked in the top 25 at least once in every season under Spurrier except 2006. They finished the 2011 season with the No. 9 ranking in the AP final poll.

The school has Spurrier signed through the 2015 season.

Spurrier coached the University of Florida in the 1990s. Under Spurrier, the Gators never finished a season ranked below No. 13. They also won the 1996 National Championship.

After coaching the NFL’s Washington Redskins in 2002 and 2003, Spurrier smartly returned to college football. Spurrier’s Fun n’ Gun offense did not work in the NFL.

Spurrier was also a great quarterback at the University of Florida, where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy after finishing ninth in Heisman voting the year before. The San Francisco 49ers then drafted him third overall in the 1967 NFL Draft.

Spurrier played both quarterback and punter in the NFL. He appeared in 106 games, having his best season in 1972. That year, he threw for 1,983 yards and 18 touchdowns.