When he was a two-sport star for South Carolina in the 1970's, Jeff Grantz brought out the best in his University. He was one of the most athletic players in USC history, and lived for big moments. During the three seasons he lettered (1973-75), Grantz had two winning seasons, a 2-1 mark against Clemson, and earned a trip to the Tangerine Bowl in 1975. That bowl bid was only USC's third ever at the time.

He was the last person to take credit for his team's successes, and the first person to take his share of the blame for the team's mistakes. He illustrated beautifully that although ability and talent are important, leadership and attitude are the most important attributes a quarterback can carry. The Gamecocks were short on defense in those years sometimes, but rarely were they out of a ballgame thanks to Grantz's gutsy efforts.

Almost 30 years since Grantz left USC, he is still a loyal alumnus. He closely watches everything that happens at USC, and is the Gamecocks' No. 1 fan. Therefore, it had to be difficult for him to put into words what many fans have been privately stewing over in regards to the Gamecocks' upcoming football season. Grantz made an appearance on a Midlands radio show recently, and admitted that we can't win in the SEC with Dondrial Pinkins at quarterback.

He explained his reasoning as it related to Pinkins' throws, and indicated that he would like to see Dondrial play fullback. Grantz went on to explain how he was a quarterback who used athletic skill to succeed, as opposed to trying to put an athlete in the position of trying to be a quarterback. He ended off by expressing concern over the upcoming season, predicting another losing campaign of five wins.

It's one thing to discount concerns from anonymous Internet posters or to tear apart a media columnist whose objectivity is in doubt on the subject. When someone who is all-Gamecock like Grantz says these things, it means something. Not only did Grantz play quarterback at USC, but from what Holtz has said about the offense the Gamecocks plan to use this fall, it appears that Grantz has run the system as well.

All of this is unfair to Dondrial Pinkins, who is in an awful spot. Here’s a fifth-year senior who is still "trying to learn the system" according to Skip Holtz, and that is not good. Teddy Heffner correctly opined that if you're going to have a quarterback under center that is trying to learn the system, then play a freshman and invest in the future. Why waste another football season trying to make Dondrial Pinkins into something he's obviously not?

When Skip Holtz says that the coaching staff is working on "body language, leadership, and attitude" with Pinkins, you really should shudder with concern. What are they teaching him headed into his fifth year that shouldn't have already been covered so he could be focused on winning?

The whole situation smacks of a coaching staff that is desperate to "smoke-and-mirror" their way to a minor bowl game in this particular season, as opposed to a confident football program headed toward championships in later years, which is what Holtz promised when he arrived. Holtz says Pinkins will shock the SEC. To do so, Pinkins will have to do more than hand the ball off, complete short passes, not make mistakes, and win six games.

That's not shocking the SEC. With Ole Miss and Arkansas in transition years and both coming to Columbia, a 6-5 season should be a given with anyone playing quarterback. (If Alabama is in as much turmoil as they might be, then one could turn that into 7-4.) "Shocking the SEC" would involve winning eight regular season games overall and at least five in the conference.

Make no mistake about one thing: Jeff Grantz wants South Carolina to win every time USC takes the field, and he'll be right there cheering for the Gamecocks, regardless of who the signal caller is. No one will be pulling harder for Pinkins to prove everyone wrong. The man has just been involved in the program long enough to recognize good and bad indicators. He and I both hope he's wrong, but I think he's read the tealeaves correctly.

The overly positive fans will likely be disappointed this year, and they will go hunting for a target on which to lash out. When choosing one, they need to not blame Jeff Grantz or anyone else for being "negative" or "not real fans." They also should not blame Dondrial Pinkins, the liberal media, the Chicken Curse, Brad Scott, Rod Gardner, the ACC refs, Mad Cow Disease, Sheep Cloning, Jim Holderman, the North Korean missiles, or too many carbs. Instead, they should focus their negative backlash on the individual coaches that put Dondrial Pinkins into a non-winnable situation.

To read Felder's column from last week, which received a tremendous amount of positive feedback, click here.