How Hilinski, Doty looked getting extra practice reps for Gamecocks this week
This week, South Carolina starting quarterback Collin Hill can take it easy, at least a little bit.
The Gamecocks are in their open week, and that means they tend to get their younger reserves more involved. That’s meant backup quarterbacks Luke Doty and Ryan Hilinski got the majority of the work the past two days in practice, according to USC coach Will Muschamp.
“I think both guys are making progress,” Muschamp said. “Those guys are battling it out and doing a nice job.”
In the team’s first five games, Hilinski has only taken snaps against Vanderbilt deep in a blowout. Doty has a few snaps as a running quarterback, and also some snaps at wide receiver, where he’s splitting time.
Both players were Elite 11 passers in high school. Hilinski was thrown into the fire as a true freshman last season, showing some promise but also not delivering consistent overall production. He lost the quarterback battle to Hill this summer.
Doty is an explosive dual-threat player, but also a true freshman who didn’t get a full spring practice and then had to split time between the two positions.
Hill is coming off an unusual game in which he helped the Gamecocks to an explosive day on offense against LSU, but the team couldn’t consistently move the ball. For the season, he has 1,076 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions with a 126.2 rating. He has also rushed for four touchdowns.
The day after the LSU loss, Muschamp said he still thinks Hill gives USC its best chance to win amid questions about potentially giving one of the reserves more work. On Wednesday he said he liked what he saw from his backups this week.
“Both guys continue to improve,” Muschamp said, “and I’ve been very pleased with both guys.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 12:41 PM.
