Why Will Muschamp tabbed a backup quarterback to help in another spot

South Carolina football didn’t need him on Saturday, but quarterback Jay Urich was ready to help the Gamecocks.

Even if it wasn’t as a quarterback.

Muschamp said Sunday that Urich changed his number from 10 to 18 against Florida on the off chance he’d be needed on special teams. It’s not often a quarterback gets asked to step into that spot, but its not often a team gets hammered by injuries like USC has at safety, a key spot for special teams contributors.

“Jay is a really good athlete,” Muschamp said. “He’s a big athlete. Bigger bodied guy, a guy that runs extremely well. Certainly can play in space. It was just a question of, we were short some guys. (He’s) a guy that was certainly willing to participate and said, ‘Absolutely. I want to get on the field and help the team any way I can.’”

At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, Urich has yet to play in a game in nearly two seasons at USC. He came to the Gamecocks as a three-star recruit and has spent time as the No. 3 and No. 4 quarterback.

Urich is a dual-threat passer who ran for more than 2,000 yards his final two years of high school and threw for more than 4,700. He started his career at Blue Ridge and then went to Wren to play in a more wide-open offense (following a similar path as former Clemson passer Kelly Bryant).

Starting quarterback Jake Bentley said it didn’t change Urich’s practice schedule too much. During special teams work, the quarterbacks usually do individual work. When Urich’s units were up, he’d just duck over to the other practice field.

Not every quarterback would be OK with that change, but Urich was.

“That’s just the type of person Jay is,” Muschamp said. “Jay wants to do whatever he can to help the team. Whether that’s passing out food or painting up someone’s helmet for them. Jay’s just that type of guy. A guy that you really want on the team. Just a guy that’s willing to do whatever it takes.”