USC QB Watch: When will a starter be announced?

South Carolina fans officially are on learning who the quarterback is going to be watch. The Gamecocks “have an idea” of who their top two quarterbacks are, coach Steve Spurrier said Wednesday morning.

He told the Columbia Touchdown Club during a luncheon later in the day that he expected to announce the quarterback, “in the very near future.” The coach’s next stop in front of a microphone will be Thursday night during his first radio call-in show of the season.

If Thursday goes by with no announcement, then Saturday would make sense. The Gamecocks will hold a closed scrimmage that morning, and Spurrier might be ready to let the cat out of the bag. If nothing else, South Carolina traditionally releases statistics from those practice games, and the breakdown of the throws will provide a pretty big hint.

To review: sophomore Connor Mitch, freshman Michael Scarnecchia and junior Perry Orth are the three players still in the running for the starting spot in Week 1, according to Spurrier.

The Gamecocks open the season on Sept. 3 against North Carolina in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. Spurrier said he doesn’t believe there’s any advantage in keeping the information from the Tar Heels until closer to game time, so the clock is ticking on an announcement.

It won’t tick long.

This story was originally published August 19, 2015 at 12:25 PM with the headline "USC QB Watch: When will a starter be announced?."