What Beamer’s Doty declaration means for the South Carolina offense
Sophomore quarterback Luke Doty picked himself off the turf, flipped the ball to the referee to his right and smirked toward Gamecock freshman defensive back O’Donnell Fortune lying on the ground beneath him.
In a spring game in which Doty was barely supposed to sniff contact, the sophomore signal-caller received a crunch of the shoulder pads near the visiting 25-yard line midway through the scrimmage portion of Sunday’s Garnet and Black Game. With an ear-to-ear grin tucked beneath his facemask, he trotted back toward his huddle as if to say, “I’m here.”
Speaking with reporters afterward, first-year head coach Shane Beamer all but doubled-down on Doty’s subtle introduction to the 13,225 Gamecock faithful in attendance at Williams-Brice Stadium.
“Unless something just totally changes between now and when we watch the tape,” Beamer proclaimed after the game, “Luke Doty is our starting quarterback.”
On a day that was as much about show as it was productivity, the afternoon served as a brief glimpse at a quarterback room set to be spearheaded by a sophomore and a backfield that stands to be among the Southeastern Conference’s elite.
Coaches and teammates have raved about Doty dating back to him relieving Collin Hill in a loss to Missouri last November. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield has lauded his athleticism — an attribute that made him the No. 4 dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 class according to the 247Sports Composite.
Beamer went as far as challenging the rest of the quarterback room to actually make the competition just that in recent weeks. Instead, Doty has continued to soar, at least through media sessions and press conference talk.
There was nothing overly exceptional about Doty’s play in Sunday’s limited scrimmage. He finished the afternoon 5-of-7 for 54 yards with a quarterback rating of 136.2 and added another six yards on the rush that saw him and Fortune crunch shoulder pads.
It wasn’t a world-beating afternoon by any stretch. But Doty’s day was a resolute, simple and largely effective performance. For a South Carolina program that has needed a more consistent presence at quarterback, Doty offers just that for the time being.
“I know there’s a lot of stuff for me personally to get better at, just to improve myself going into the summer and then going into the fall once we get into camp,” Doty said. “I really don’t consider whether (I’m) starting or not. It’s really about coming into work every single day with the desire to get better and to make everyone around me better, whether that be me, Jason, Colten, Connor whoever that is.”
While Doty should be the linchpin for the Gamecock offense come fall, it won’t come without help.
Senior running back ZaQuandre White tallied 95 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries as he continued his breakout spring. Freshman MarShawn Lloyd and junior Kevin Harris — who led the Southeastern Conference with 113.8 rushing yards per game — were both relegated to the sideline with varying injury situations.
Once healthy, that trio of talented runners should take pressure off of their starting signal-caller.
“We can help Luke out a lot and Luke can help me out a lot,” White said postgame. ”Just telling him every day: ‘If you need I’ll help you. If I need help you help me.’ (He’s) just that type of guy.”
Behind Doty, freshman Colten Gauthier and sophomore walk-on Connor Jordan combined for a pedestrian 1-of-4 for three yards, despite having taken the bulk of the reps at No. 2 and No. 3 quarterback this spring.
Saint Francis (Pennsylvania) transfer Jason Brown flashed the most impressive arm of the afternoon. He first combined with former Red Flash teammate E.J. Jenkins for an 11-yard touchdown pass in the back right corner of the end zone during the scrimmage. Brown again found Jenkins during red zone drills for a nearly 20-yard, toe-tapping touchdown near the front-left pylon.
”Man, Jason had himself a day,” Doty said through a wide-eyed smile. “And that was really awesome to see, ‘cause he’s a guy that just comes in every single day and just works.”
Sunday, Beamer officially bequeathed Doty a slot that had long been presumed to be headed the Myrtle Beach native’s way. With spring ball capped and the summer looming, Doty’s progression from now until the fall should directly affect the trajectory of Beamer’s first season in Columbia.
“Luke’s got to continue to progress over the summer. Luke’s got to have a great preseason training camp,” Beamer said. “But yes, as we come out of spring practice Luke’s our starting quarterback. Now it’s his job to continue to earn that and continue to compete between now and the Eastern Illinois game.”
