During Steve Spurrier’s prime at Florida, coaches recruited seniors. During his tenure at South Carolina, recruiting started to change. Coaches started to put more focus into recruiting juniors, and eventually sophomores and now even high school freshmen. Spurrier Jr. says it was the freshmen that made the Head Ball Coach realize he wasn’t fit for recruiting.

“One of the things that partially kind of ran him out was the people who liked to recruit ninth-graders all the time,” Spurrier Jr. told reporters this week. “He said, ‘Yeah, I’m not recruiting ninth-graders all day long. I’m not going to be here in five, six years.’”

Spurrier’s words, per his son, will likely frustrate South Carolina fans. Questions about how long Spurrier would remain head coach hampered USC recruiting in 2015. The former Gamecocks coach has admitted he likely should have stepped down after the Independence Bowl victory over Miami. Spurrier, however, stayed on and continued to recruit for South Carolina resigning abruptly midseason 2015.

More of Spurrier Jr.’s thoughts on his time in Columbia and his new job at Western Kentucky can be found in this article by The State’s Dwayne McLemore.