Since Spurrier and Phat Phil have been frequently mentioned, I'll toss this into the thread, from their offseason piss 'n moan contest.
The recent arrest count is led by Tennessee (11-9). The quote war will be won by Spurrier - I mean Phil's gotta come up with something better than "Maybe it rained that day and he didn't get to play golf".
Bold text added for the coaching quotes.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/ncaa/04/14/vols.ap/index.html
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Still upset about the number of his players arrested recently, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer on Thursday jabbed back at an old coaching nemesis who took a dig at the Volunteers' situation.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, who routinely poked fun at Tennessee while he coached at Florida, threw in a comment about the Vols when he was asked about criminal charges being dropped against Gamecocks receiver Syvelle Newton.
<!--startclickprintexclude-->"I guess at one time somebody accused [Newton] of slapping him or something," Spurrier was quoted as saying in Thursday's edition of
The State newspaper.
"But this was not a full-blown fight. If you want to read about some full-blown fights, read about the Tennessee players, not our guys. We've not had any knockdown, drag-out fights amongst our players."
Eleven Tennessee players have been arrested or cited since February 2004 on various charges, and four players were charged this week with assault stemming from two separate fights on campus.
"He needs to take care of his own house and leave mine alone. He's got plenty of issues over there, I'm sure, to deal with," Fulmer said Thursday after practice. "We've had a lot worse things than this that we've gotten through."
South Carolina has had nine players arrested in recent months.
Spurrier will be facing Tennessee this season for the first time as South Carolina coach when the Gamecocks come to Knoxville on Oct. 29. One of his most famous jokes about Tennessee was that "You can't spell Citrus without UT," referring to the many times the Vols had to settle going to the Citrus Bowl after losing to Florida.
"It doesn't bother me one bit," Fulmer said about Spurrier. "Maybe it rained that day and he didn't get to play golf."
Fulmer apologized earlier this week to university administrators and fans for the spate of arrests. Quarterback Brent Schaeffer and receiver Bret Smith were suspended from the team Monday, a day after they were charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly hitting a fellow student in a campus dorm. The student had a cut on his head that required four staples to close.
On Tuesday, defensive end Robert Ayers and linebacker Jerod Mayo were charged with aggravated assault in connection with a fight at a party last month on campus that left another student unconscious and with a broken jaw.
Ayers was suspended from the team, Fulmer said Thursday. Fulmer doesn't believe Mayo did anything wrong and has not suspended him even though former Tennessee football player Thomas Stallworth told police Mayo was involved.
"[Stallworth's] wrong. I told him at the time he was wrong. He thought he saw something. That's the thing with that whole deal. A lot of people thought they saw things," Fulmer said.