Gamecocks dial back Doty’s wide receiver this work, turn focus to QB
South Carolina’s Luke Doty just jumped in at wide receiver.
The four-star freshman from Myrtle Beach had spent much of the start of preseason camp at that spot. In the past week or so, however, that was dialed back. But ever the pleaser, he found a moment to get back in there.
“We had like three or four receivers go down to start of practice, nothing serious,” Gamecocks offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “Next thing I know, he jumped in there and started taking reps.”
No one asked, not Bobo or receivers coach Joe Cox. But Doty just wanted in.
Bobo said the staff had wanted him to focus on quarterback after building up a solid base at receiver. The speedy, 6-foot-1 dual-threat passer had dabbled at catching balls early in the summer and ended up among the Gamecocks’ top six wide receivers.
But Bobo felt the need to get him more up to speed on offense.
“I can’t say enough about him,” Bobo said. “He hit a little bit of a wall about a week and a half ago, not physically, mentally [playing] quarterback and receiver, and I just wanted to dial it back a little bit for him and try to get him in a position where he can build some confidence as a quarterback.”
The coach also shared a moment when a freshman tried to take on a little too much at once. Bobo asked Doty to highlight the plays on the playsheet that he felt comfortable with.
The sheet came back with just about everything highlighted.
“So the next day I put him through a walkthrough and he did about anything wrong,” Bobo said. “I said, ‘So you lied to me,’ So he sent me one back that was highlighted with just what he felt comfortable with, and that goes back to that trust factor.
“Sometimes everyone will say the right thing just to please the coach but they got to be honest and tell the truth so we put them in the best position to be comfortable.”
Barring something unforeseen, Doty will be the team’s third-stringer behind Collin Hill and Ryan Hilinski, who are battling for the starting job. But in the age of COVID, the staff wants all the options available, just in case.
Doty was named Mr. Football in South Carolina as a high school senior, when he threw for more than 2,000 yards despite getting hurt in his team’s 11th game (all wins). He threw for more than 3,000 yards as a junior, leading the Seahawks to a state title.
The coaches have praised Doty as one of the fastest players on the team.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 2:02 PM.
