If you can win at Duke, you can win at Arizona.
That was the message Steve Spurrier conveyed to the Wildcats when he dropped in for a visit this week. The “Head Ball Coach” is the man who gave UA coach Jedd Fisch his first break in the profession with Florida in 1999. But Spurrier didn’t discuss his runs at UF or South Carolina when he addressed Fisch’s team Wednesday.
“They were 1-3 and played the No. 7 team in the country, Clemson, and came out on top,” Fisch said of Spurrier’s 1989 Blue Devils. “And then made a run after that. He just talked about how it comes down to spirit, how it comes down to effort, how it comes down to belief.”
Duke won its final seven regular-season games that year. The Blue Devils also won the ACC championship, something it hadn’t accomplished in 27 years and hasn’t been done since.
Spurrier didn’t inherit a team that had lost 12 straight games when he took over as Duke’s coach. But the 1986 Blue Devils lost six of their final seven. It was the closest thing to a rebuild — a word he doesn’t like to use — that Spurrier had to deal with in 26 seasons as a college head coach. He had two losing records in all that time — 5-6 in his first year at Duke, 2-4 in his last at South Carolina.
Spurrier, 76, has retired from coaching. His two sons remain in the profession: Steve Jr., a former UA assistant, is the outside receivers coach at Mississippi State; Scott is a special-teams analyst at Arizona.
Their dad spent time with the UA staff this week and was planning to attend Friday night’s home game against Washington. The Wildcats’ school-record 18-game losing streak began against the Huskies on Oct. 12, 2019. Arizona is hopeful it will come to an end against UW.
Shortly after addressing the Wildcats during practice Wednesday, Spurrier spoke briefly with members of the media. The discussion mostly focused on the challenges his apprentice, Fisch, faces at Arizona. Below is a portion of that conversation. It has been lightly edited.
How can Fisch turn this program around?
A: “He’s gotta do what everybody’s doing now. You gotta hit that transfer portal. Arizona, to me, it’s like Florida. If you live in Arizona or Florida, why would you want to live up North? I think he can get a bunch of good players that maybe are not happy or not playing to come here.
“Obviously, you’ve gotta recruit. And the portal. To me, it’s both now. You work both of those well and keep running a good program and guys are hustling ... he’ll get a good team here.”
Is Duke the closest thing that you ever experienced to a rebuild?
A: “I never used the word ‘rebuild.’ When I went to South Carolina, they thought rebuild. I never liked that word.”
What was your record in your first year at South Carolina?
A: “We were 7-5. Lost a bowl game. But it did take a while to recruit (Jadeveon) Clowney, Stephon Gilmore, Marcus Lattimore. We had those three straight 11-2 years. One of those three could have been better. I still think we could have won one SEC (championship), but we screwed up a game here and there.
“But we really had some players at South Carolina between 2010 and ’13. And then after that it didn’t keep rolling like that.”
When you’re in your first year at a new program, what are some of the foundational things that you’re trying to instill in that team as you create your culture?
A: “Just consistency in everything. Making sure the players are committed. Go to weightlifting, go to class, do everything you’re supposed to do. Set the rules and enforce them. And get some leader guys. Hopefully you can develop some leaders within the team.
“All those great teams we had at Florida in the ’90s ... Danny Wuerffel, he was the quarterback for four SEC champs and the (1996) national (championship team). When you got one guy that (says), ‘All right, here’s how we’re gonna do it and here’s how we’re going to win big,’ they all listen to him. Coaches try to say that. But when you got it within the team, it’s really helpful.
“You just gotta develop some, hopefully recruit some, transfer-portal some guys that really want to win. Make that commitment.”
How hard is it to win when you have injuries and/or inconsistency at quarterback?
A: “I guess it’s pretty difficult. I’ve never had too many quarterbacks get hurt over the years. But if you don’t have a quarterback ready to play, you gotta change the offense probably a little bit, be a little bit more limited. Go to the ‘Wildcat’ or something. I’ve been known to go to the Wildcat.”
How would you summarize your message to the Arizona players?
A: “We won at Duke, way before these guys were even born. We didn’t have great players, but they had spirit. They loved each other. We all set some goals.
“(When) I talk to teams like that, I try to emphasize what those guys did and how they really, really got up for every game. And they looked each other in the eye and said, ‘Let’s go beat these damn guys.’
“If something bad happened, they’d just keep playing. If something good happened, keep playing. Just play the whole game. And I’ll be damned: We walked off Kenan Stadium field (home of rival North Carolina) as ACC champs.”
Extra points
Jamarye Joiner will play a larger role in UA’s offense, particularly as a quarterback, Fisch said Thursday. Joiner took two snaps at QB against Colorado and is expected to continue that role against UW, with starter Will Plummer as the only healthy scholarship QB available. Fisch said coaches will “build up” Joiner at quarterback so that he can catch up on understanding Arizona’s system.
The Wildcats could be thin at running back vs. UW. Both Drake Anderson and Michael Wiley are game-time decisions with injuries. Jalen John and Stevie Rocker Jr. would be in line to see more carries if either should miss the game. Fisch said Bam Smith is also a candidate to enter the rotation.
Arizona’s offensive and defensive lines are also dealing with a few injuries. Center Josh McCauley and guard Josh Donovan are game-time decisions, Fisch said. Defensive tackle Kyon Barrs is doubtful.
