Spurrier says 'deflate-gate' is not new

COLUMBIA – As a former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and head coach in both the National Football and United States Football leagues, Steve Spurrier had a lot of opinions about "deflate-gate" with the New England Patriots.

He didn't venture a guess on whether or not New England coach Bill Belichick or quarterback Tom Brady had anything to do with reducing deflating the footballs the Patriots used in the American Football Conference Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Spurrier did have a lot of opinions on how quarterbacks prefer the conditions of footballs used in games, however.

"When I played in the NFL, remember all the fumbles and the balls slipping out of quarterbacks hands?" Spurrier asked. "You couldn't rub 'em down. They came right out of the box and into the game.

"My first head (coaching) job was in the USFL. I came in and we were talking one day and I said `why don't we rub the balls down? We don't need brand new footballs.' A couple of the old coaches, George Allen, said: 'No, wait a minute. The NFL is using brand new footballs. They're doing OK.'

"Then another coach, Chuck Fairbanks, said: 'Maybe Steve's got something there, if they're easier to grip and catch, why don't we do it instead of having it slipping out of hands all the time?' So we did it. We rubbed them down."

Spurrier said, despite its hesitance to copy the USFL, the NFL eventually followed suit.

When he played, Spurrier admitted to a preference for how he wanted footballs to feel.

"I didn't like a real hard ball," he said. "Most all the quarterbacks who have normal size hands don't like a real hard ball. They like it (with) a little (less air).

"(USC starting quarterback) Dylan (Thompson), he goes over them just before the game and everything and then they give them to the referees. The referee throws them in and out all the time."

Deflating the pressure in footballs has happened before. Spurrier pointed out that Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin's Southern Cal team was fined when ball boys were discovered deflating footballs during the Trojans' 2012 game against Oregon.

"There has been instances as we know," Spurrier said, referring to that incident. "The former coach at Southern Cal, the Alabama offensive coordinator now, he got in trouble out there. Remember that one (with) the ball boy?

"All the ball boy has to do is carry their little needle. Psst (making the sound of air coming out of a football). That's all that needs to be done. You know that. Nobody has interviewed the ball boy yet, have they?"