Collin Hill to start at QB Saturday for Gamecocks against Ole Miss

Grad transfer quarterback Collin Hill will start Saturday for South Carolina in the Gamecocks’ road game at Ole Miss.

The State confirmed the news of the decision through a source. WACH Fox sports anchor Mike Uva first reported that Hill would start, citing “a source close with the program” who said USC’s quarterbacks were informed Friday.

Hill started the first six games of this season for the 2-4 Gamecocks, but coach Will Muschamp declared the job was open after the offense struggled in the losses to LSU and Texas A&M. The Gamecocks were outscored 100-27 in those games.

Hill has thrown for more than 1,100 yards five touchdowns and five interceptions this season, but connected on 8-of-21 passes against Texas A&M.

“Coach (Mike) Bobo and I met (Thursday) and had a pretty extensive conversation about it,” Muschamp said Thursday on his weekly call-in show appearance. “We’ll meet again (Friday) and then we’ll make the decision, get those guys together as a group. I want everyone to hear the same message as far as that’s concerned and the direction we decide to go.“

The competition was between Hill and sophomore Ryan Hilinski, who started the final 11 games of last season. True freshman QB Luke Doty is expected to continue playing in a smaller package that takes advantage of his running ability.

Hill played for Bobo, now South Carolina’s offensive coordinator, at Colorado State.

Hilinski had more than 2,300 yards last season, but he lost the competition in the offseason to Hill. The COVID-19 pandemic cost Hilinski a lot of practice time in terms of learning the offense.

Muschamp on Tuesday described the need for a QB competition this way: “We lacked a spark on Saturday to get going, and sometimes the change-up is at that position. That position can affect more people than any other people on the offensive side of the ball. It’s not all on that position. We need to play better around that position. We need to have more people step up at the wideout position outside of Shi Smith. We need to continue to take advantage of the tight end position. We need to run the ball better.

“We needed a spark. Moving forward competition hopefully provides that spark.”

South Carolina (2-4) at Ole Miss (2-4)

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss.

TV: SEC Network

Line: Ole Miss by 11

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 1:52 PM.