Bobo mum on QB plans after Luke Doty shows spark for Gamecocks
Mike Bobo wasn’t going to share his plan for his quarterbacks this week — but not because it was a big secret.
It was because the interim Gamecocks football coach had not shared it with the passers themselves just yet.
The coach is in the position of figuring out how to divide reps after benching his senior starter, Collin Hill, against Missouri and throwing freshman Luke Doty into a bigger role. Doty showed a spark and helped a lethargic Gamecocks attack start moving, but Bobo, the interim coach after Will Muschamp was fired, hasn’t fully committed publicly to a plan going forward.
“We’ve got a plan, but I haven’t met with the quarterbacks yet,” Bobo said during his Sunday evening teleconference. He’ll meet with reporters again Tuesday. “Connor Shaw handled the (quarterback) meeting (Sunday) to review the film. I don’t want to talk about (the plan) yet until I talk about it with the kids.”
Doty showed some flair as he ran for 59 yards and threw for 130, often making tricky passes. There were some freshman hiccups, but he didn’t seem to shrink from the moment.
Bobo warned that Missouri’s scheme was a good matchup, as the Tigers don’t play much zone, which created scramble lanes. The next challenge is a Georgia team with one of the best defenses in the country and a week to dig in on the new film.
Doty was a four-star recruit and an Elite 11 passer coming out of high school. The staff played him at receiver part of the season, trying to use his speed, but as the year went on, the coaches seemed to want more of him under center. Bobo went into the Missouri game saying he planed to play two quarterbacks, and it became clear that was Hill and Doty, not former starter Ryan Hilinski.
The move to bench Hill came right at the end of halftime, after the veteran had struggled to 39 yards on 10 passes with several sacks. He has 1,411 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions on the season.
Hill played for Bobo at Colorado State and got the starting nod the first eight games in part because of his knowledge of the offense. They’ve been together through a move out west for Hill (he’s from Spartanburg) and three torn ACLs (all Hill), and even through last week, USC coaches insisted Hill gave the team the best chance to win.
“I’ve always told all of the players I’ve coached over the years, whether coaching quarterback or been a head coach, is that I owe it to everybody on the team that the best guy plays,” Bobo said. “It’s nothing anything personal, whether you play or don’t play. The best guy is going to play.
“That’s the way it always has been for me. I try to take emotion out of it. You always try to be transparent and honest with the kids with where they stand and what they have to do to perform. That’s how I’ve always been and always will be you. You want every guy you coach to have success. It’s tough when a guy doesn’t have the success he wants or you want. It’s tougher for the quarterbacks because that’s really the only time they get on the field.”
Injury report
South Carolina wide receiver Shi Smith will have to wait to find out if he can play this season. But another wide receiver won’t see the field again in 2020.
Mike Bobo said expects sophomore Xavier Legette to miss the rest of this season. Legette has been playing banged up all season and missed the past two games. Smith, the team’s top receiver this season, suffered a concussion on a hard hit against Missouri.
Defensive end Keir Thomas and wide receiver Dakereon Joyner are both questionable for the game Saturday against Georgia.
Georgia (5-2) at South Carolina (2-6)
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC
TV: SEC Network
Line: Georgia by 19
This story was originally published November 22, 2020 at 9:14 PM.
