Muschamp says USC can win with any of three QBs
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp addressed the Columbia Touchdown Club at its annual kickoff luncheon on Wednesday, but he didn’t shed any more light on who will start at quarterback for his Gamecocks when they open the season against Vanderbilt on Sept. 1.
“We can win games in this league with any of the three, I believe that,” Muschamp said.
Senior Perry Orth, who started eight games last year, has the experience advantage, Muschamp said. Freshman Brandon McIlwain, who participated in spring practice “is a fantastic athlete” and can also throw very well, Muschamp said. Freshman Jake Bentley, who enrolled this summer, “can make all the throws. The only thing he’s lacking are the repetitions the other guys have.”
“We will get productive play from that position,” said Muschamp, who again said he won’t name a starter before the first game.
Muschamp held his first “Carolina Calls” show of the season Wednesday night and again touched on the quarterback competition.
“I have a lot of confidence in all three guys,” he said. “All three guys have had great camps. I’ve got a very good idea where we are headed with this and excited about where we are. I am not going to let you know tonight. I think when you narrow things down for a coach like him preparation wise, it makes it easier.”
Muschamp said he might not tell the quarterbacks who is starting until the night before the game.
Overall, Muschamp praised his current team’s work ethic and expressed optimism about the program’s future.
“We are excited about where we are,” he said. “We are really excited about where we’re headed.”
In other news from the event:
▪ Cornerbacks Rashad Fenton, Chris Lammons and Jamarcus King “can play the style of defense we want to play,” Muschamp said. “After that, we’re thin.” That means the Gamecocks will have to prepare to play more zone coverage than Muschamp would like in case one of those three players isn’t available for any reason.
▪ On recruiting, Muschamp reiterated he wants to recruit his new home state first, but not exclusively. “There’s four million people in South Carolina,” he said. “There’s good enough players. There are not enough.”
▪ He continues to feel good about his offensive line. “All of those guys have had really good camps,” he said.
▪ Redshirt freshman A.J. Turner remains the No. 1 tailback. “We are going to have to be creative in the run game,” Muschamp said.
▪ Defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth had a “great camp” and Marquavius Lewis had a “good camp,” Muschamp said.
▪ The Gamecocks had 1,500 snaps of 11-on-11, full contact work in their first 22 practices, Muschamp said. “We had a really physical camp,” he said.
▪ USC’s quarterbacks will play from under center and out of the shotgun this year, Muschamp said.
▪ Muschamp on his call-in show said Turner will return kickoffs, and Fenton will return punts.
▪ The Gamecocks didn’t practice Wednesday and Muschamp said he considered Tuesday’s practice the final of “preseason camp.” He was pleased with the camp, he said. “Very rarely did we step on the field and have a bad day,” he said. He added that he always wants to get recruits to a camp on USC’s campus so he can see them on the field and they can see him and his coaching staff on the field. “I’m into coaching and not coddling,” Muschamp said. “If they don’t want hard coaching, they don’t need to come here.”
▪ The Gamecocks will have a 7 a.m. team meeting Thursday before their morning practice. The message will be, “Let’s take care of South Carolina,” Muschamp said.
This story was originally published August 24, 2016 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Muschamp says USC can win with any of three QBs."