[Tuck4Bama]

Steve Spurrier tried hiring a new special teams coach. He tried spending more practice time on special teams. He tried yelling.

None of it has seemed to help.

So Spurrier is going with a simpler approach: The South Carolina coach plans to use his best players on special teams Saturday against S.C. State.

That means starting linebackers Jasper and Casper Brinkley will cover kicks. Tailback Mike Davis will return them, and fifth-year back Cory Boyd will sprint downfield looking for someone to run over.

Regardless of how the experiment goes, Spurrier believes he will be smarter because of it.

“If we lose a game because someone runs a kickoff or punt back, at least we can say, ‘Hey, we had our best guys on the field.’ So we’re not going to be as dumb as we were last week,” Spurrier said Tuesday. “We were pretty stupid as coaches putting some guys out there that can’t do it. We keep thinking they’re going to. We keep yelling at them every week.

“Finally, I came to the conclusion that we’re not going to watch it any more. So we’re going to watch our best players.”

Special teams play has been a concern of the USC coaching staff the past two years. The Gamecocks have yet to score a special teams touchdown under Spurrier, who hired former Mississippi State assistant Shane Beamer during the offseason to improve special teams.

GoGamecocks.com | Spurrier shakes up special teams