The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 15, 1989, Page 11, Image 11
Pep Talk
By Dave Kay
I
use football n
from tragic, un
Thirty years fron> now, when I
look back on my first year of college,
three events that characterized the
hard luck of the USC football team
will come to mind ? the Georgia
Tech game, the steroid scandal and
the tragic death of head coach Joe
Morrison.
If someone were to tell me that
USC was under a jinx this year, I
wouldn't have much of an argument.
For a lot of teams, tough times come
and go, and eventually the
Gamecocks will have clear skies
again, but ever since that day in
Atlanta, USC has seen its share of insurmountable
obstacles.
A foreshadowing of doom occured
in R1 Q^lzchuro Vq Or?t 8th u/hpn
the Gamecocks squeezed by a
mediocre Virginia Tech club.
A week later, USC went to Georgia
with a No. 8 ranking on their
shoulders, and Florida State in their
minds. The result was their first loss
? by a humiliating score of 34-0.
Some saw this as a "good loss" in the
sense it would bring the players back
"down to earth."
Well, if this loss didn't humble
them, former USC player Tommy
Chaikm's story on the pages of
Sports Illustrated should have. If this
wasn't a one-two knockout punch, I
don't know what would be. A week
before, the Gamecocks were 6-0 and
on a natural high; now they were a
crestfallen 6-1 and accused of riding
a more unnatural high ? illegal
drugs.
Was USC really the University of
Steroids and Cocaine as Chaikin had
claimed? Would there be an investigation
by the NCAA? Was probation
on the horizon? These questions
and more arose on a campus
which has some the finest football
facilities in the nation.
Was USC's mighty fortress built
around an illegal nucleus? Chaikin
claimed over half the team and
coaching staff were corrupt.
This one week turned the whole
season in the wrong direction, but
what else could happen? Good times
would surely be on the way.
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nust recover
lucky season
Apparently not, because the
Gamecocks reeled off three losses in
their last five games including a
whitewashing by the Seminoles of
Florida State and their eighth consecutive
bowl loss against Indiana in
the Liberty.
Finally, the season was over. Eight
months must pass before the next so
the bad times will surely be gone by
then, right? Not so fast. The last
thing we needed was for our solid
coaching staff to fall apart. So what
happened? You guessed it, the
coaching staff disintegrated.
Defensive line coach Jim
Washburn went to Purdue, offensive
line coach Mike Bender escaped to
Rice, and linebacker coach Frank
Orgel was hired by new Georgia head
man Ray Goff. Offensive coordinator
A1 Groh didn't leave, but he
was reportedly demoted from offensive
coordinator to quarterback
coach after his offense scored but
two touchdowns in the final six
games.
Assistant coaching moves aren't
considered tragic ? especially if
there is room for improvement ? so
the coaching moves didn't concern
most fans. Besides, it was recruiting
season, and even without a great
backup cast, Morrison was certain to
lure a few jewels.
Need I say, disaster struck on Feb.
5th with Morrison's death. This had
to be the lowest point in USC football
history. Bad luck and all the controversy
certainly took its toll on
Morrison in his last year as coach.
Whether the Georgia Tech game,
the steroid scandal or the coaching
changes had an effect on Morrison's
death, we'll never know ? but one
thing's for sure. Morrison's last year
at USC was a good year ? 8-4 with a
bowl appearance is certainly respectable
? but it was marred by a series
of bad luck incidents.
In remembering the legacy of Joe
Morrison, it will be hard to forget the
troubles of his last tenure. Although
it is time to look toward the future,
we must constantly remember what
Morrison brought to USC ? success.
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IT-118
Huff recalls
By The Associated Press
Even while mourning the death of his friend,
Sam Huff couldn't help but smile and chuckle a bit
when he recalled the times he and Joe Morrison
had with the N.Y. Giants.
There was the time he and kicker Don Chandler
went to the airport to get Morrison, who was
drafted by the Giants in 1959 and played 14 years
for the NFL team. But this did not look like their
Joe Morrison. Their Joe Morrison didn't dress like
this.
"\\/ a ncorl tr\ tairo Viim oK/-\nt Kir r\ race- I L i r urrtc
nc uowu IU itaav, 111111 auuui ma i 1113 was
the first thing I thought of when I heard that Joe
had died," Huff said. "It was Morrison's second
year in pro football. Of course, he had a lot of
money. He must have made at least $8,000 for the
whole season.
"He came to camp ? Chandler and I met him at
La Guardia Airport to go to Burlington, Vermont,
where our training camp was ? and Joe was really
decked out. I mean he had a suit on, necktie, hat
and cowboy boots, of course. And he said, 'You
guys can't tell me anything about my dress now.
Look at me now.' He'was really dressed up."
Morrison then pulled up his pants leg, revealing
that he was wearing white athletic socks. "We said,
'You'll never be dressed up, Joe. You'll always be
Joe Morrison,"' Huff said.
Huff knew Morrison, who died Feb. 5 of a heart
attack, better than most. He spoke at a memorial
service for the USC coach at Williams-Brice
Stadium. Following the service Friday, which an
estimated 7,000 attended, Huff talked with
reporters about Morrison.
Wiechern places
first in high jump ^PO
The USC men's track team com- vanced to t
peted in the Barnett Bank Invita- /-* Singles
tional at the University of Florida's s^jps {
Stephen C. O'Connell Center last neapolis M
weekend. men's and
The Gamecocks finished ninth in a nament
field of 13 teams in the overall team tournamen
standings. The Gators captured the Gamecoc
title while Penn State, LSU, Auburn vanced to
and Kentucky rounded out the top defeating <
five- , 6-2,6-3. Sii
Leading USC were seniors Paul the tournar
Wiechern and Andy Foster. player in
Wiechern captured first place in the Washing
high jump with a leap of 7'2", and Washingtoi
Foster broke the USC school record score Qf 4-<
in the 3,000 meter run with a time of
8:22.46, while finishing fourth. USC'sSt
Also with notable performances
were Nigel Stoddart, who finished "ettef>
fourth in the 55-meter dash, Mike . ' ?
Hedgecock, who took 10th in the 'na's' u
I j nu n- Harkness i
3,000 meter run, and Phillipe
Williams, who captured fourth in the .
. . Simian a
long jump. .
Jr. ? , ... . in the semi
The Gamecocks will next participate
in the Virginia Tech Invita- G^lhuaith ^
tional Feb. 24-25. , Ul .
doubles tet
* and Galbr;
USC tennis players Longley by
, n, i Invited
reach quarterfinals was uses
in the first
USC's top two tennis players ad- the Univer;
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NFL days witl
"If you played for Joe Morrison, if you knew 1(
Joe Morrison, you loved Joe Morrison," Huff w
said. "Joe Morrison had probably, as a football C
person, one of the greatest minds that anybody IV
could ever have. You say, 'Was he intelligent?' No
more intelligent than anybody else. 1<
"But he had football intelligence. It's hard to explain
to anybody what football intelligence is. re
Football is not a complicated game. Coaches C
basically make football a complicated game. People
like Joe Morrison made it simple, so everybody a
could understand it." T
In recent years, Huff kept an eye on his friend by fi
watching his teams on television. A few years ago, y<
the iNrL Hall ot rame linebacker couldn t quite b;
believe what he saw as he watched Morrison pace C
the sidelines.
P
"He wore sideburns and was smoking a pipe," hi
Huff said. "I thought that South Carolina had got- u:
ten a new coach. 1 didn't realize that was my friend
Joe Morrison." hi
Huff called a mutual friend ? USC Associate si
Athletic Director John Moqre. "
"I called John and told him, 'Tell my friend Joe
Morrison to quit looking like (then Miami coach tl
Harold) Schnellenberger and be yourself and get n
back to coaching that offense like nobody can do H
it,'" Huff said. ai
"And that was the last time I saw Joe smoke a o
pipe and wear those long sideburns. But I could da o
that because I'm his friend, and he was mine."
That friendship led Huff to recommend Mor- S
rison for his first head coaching job at Tennessee- r<
Chattanooga. Morrison was there from 1973 to s(
I Bowling team &
RTS BRIEFS I tour
he quarterfinals of the IT- . The ^ menu's b?wlin8 t(
and Doubles Champion- ticipated in the Southeri
this nact in Min. COllegiate Bowling Cot
linn. The top 32 players in Championships last weel
women's collegiate tour- Jacksonville, Fla.
were invited to the The Gamecocks finished
t with 2,980 pins, in a fiel
:k Stephane Simian ad- schools <13 fr?m1 s?u<
the quarterfinals by s'a'fs)- Miami-Dade Cot
Slemson's John Sullivan . captured f"st pli
mian faced the top seed in 3'060. P1"5' and lhe secon'
nent and the No. 1 college 'eam";e "at,on' Morehei
the nation, Malivai th,' ,,
ton of Michigan. USCs Jerry Horn was
i defeated Simian by a ac?rer for D'vls'?n 11 s<:ho0
< g_| 203 average for the tournarr
Horn also captured the singl
. , . ... pionship with 712 pins,
eve Longley defeated Luis Horn and ,eammate T
rexas Christian University finjshed seveMh jn the doul
qualify lor the quarter- combined
: lost to BYU s David , ?6n .
n the semifinals 6-3, 7-6 ' P,nsThe
Gamecocks will pa
nd Longley were defeated next in the ACUI Champioi
finals of the doubles tour- Johnson City, Tenn. Feb. 2<
Brian Garrow and Pat
of UCLA, the No. 1
im in the nation. Garrow
aith defeated Simian and,. O Ij
r a score of 7-6, 6-3.
to the women's division ?, , .
Michelle Duda, who lost Don t forget to SlgT
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i Morrison
379, compiling a 44-29-4 record. Morrison later
ent on to New Mexico before coming to South
arolina in 1983. In six seasons at South Carolina,
lorrison was 39-28-2.
Overall, Morrison had a career record of
31-72-7 in 16 seasons.
While Morrison led the Gamecocks to their best
;cord ever ? 10-2 in 1984 ? his tenure at South
arolina was not without controversy.
There was a paternity suit two years ago filed by
woman whose child is Morrison's daughter,
here was a drug-testing controversy that led to the
ring of Athletic Director Bob Marcum nearly a
;ar ago. And this year there were the allegations
y former Gamecock defensive lineman Tommy
haikin.
In an article in Sports Illustrated, Chaikin, who
layed at South Carolina from 1983 to 1987, said
e used steroids and that about half the 1986 team
sed steroids.
After the story appeared, Morrison said he had
eard rumors of steroid use, but they were never
ibstantiated. Huff defended Morrison, saying he
would never condone anything like that. Never."
"I think he would rather lose a football game
lan lose a young man," Huff said. "But he would
ever be like me and stand up and defend himself,
le just thought time would take care of things,
nd most times it did. I think in this case it would
f also, because he would have worked his way out
f it. He was a good man. The best.
"I don't think there'll ever be another coach at
outh Carolina like Joe. It'll take a long time to
^alize what you had here," Huff said. "You had
amething special."
yabs
Ugy "Lorri's always had a logical
no-nonsense approach to
earn par- problem solving, and she
n Inter- never goes back on her word.
lend^'in Having known her for 9 yrs.
I don't think there's a more
1 second qualified person for the job".
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