How does offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield operate? Past quarterbacks weigh in
South Carolina offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield’s quarterback philosophy boils down to three things: communication, controlling tempo and ball security.
It’s simplistic, sure. But it’s also consistent.
“He expects perfection out there,” P.J. Walker, who played for Satterfield for three years at Temple and is now with the Carolina Panthers, told The State. “We can’t all be perfect, but you have to strive for it.”
The routine under Satterfield has always been regimented. During his time at Temple under head coach Matt Rhule, practices were held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Quarterbacks would dig deep into the game plan on Friday, Walker explained. The rest of the week was reserved for progressing within Satterfield’s system.
Walker spent hours and hours in the film room alongside his offensive coordinator. They laughed and jilted one another. They broke down game tape from Temple and beyond. It was all part of the cohesive coaching regimen Satterfield employed.
“You don’t want to be back there jerking the ball around,” Walker said. “You want to be back there and be precise with your footwork. You want to be correct with your reads. You want to be on time. And that’s one thing I loved about coach (Satterfield) is that he had us doing a lot of (that).”
At South Carolina, Satterfield has inherited a quarterback room that’s wide on past experiences but short on legitimate Southeastern Conference reps.
Zeb Noland, who will be USC’s QB1 on Saturday against Eastern Illinois, spent time at Iowa State and North Dakota state, but played sporadically at the Big 12 level. FCS transfer Jason Brown has 18 collegiate games under his belt, but hasn’t played in an FBS contest.
Starter Luke Doty — who’s missed time of late due to a sprained foot — has the most SEC experience of any quarterback on the roster, but he spent the bulk of last season bouncing between receiver and quarterback.
Freshman Colten Gauthier and walk-ons Connor Jordan and Jake Helfrich are also around.
Yet for what South Carolina lacks in holistic SEC experience, Satterfield makes up for in his past work with youthful signal-callers. Walker earned the starting nod at Temple midway through his freshman year. Jacob Huesman was also handed the reins to Satterfield’s offense as a freshman at UT-Chattanooga. So too was Andre Sale, who spent two years at Tennessee Tech when Satterfield was the head coach before concluding his career at LSU.
With young signal-callers, Satterfield didn’t so much dumb down offensive concepts but explained them. He gave the hows and whys behind passing concepts, so thinking on Saturdays functioned more like second nature. Then came the creativity in the play calling.
“He did a great job of window dressing,” said Sale, who’s now coaching quarterbacks and receivers at Presbyterian. “We could be running the same play type out of six, seven different formations or six or seven different motions and shifts just so that the defense wouldn’t even know what’s coming.”
Satterfield can also be demanding. Asked last week if he’d gotten on Noland since he’d flipped from graduate assistant to player, Satterfield cracked a smile and conceded it’d been fun to yell and see how Noland would handle it.
Noland backed up Satterfield’s wry smile during his own press conference on Wednesday.
“Oh yeah,” Noland said as to whether he’d been yelled at yet. “But I love it — I really do. That’s just my style.”
Each of Satterfield’s past quarterbacks concede they had their own run ins.
Huesman could only laugh when asked whether he’d caught a tongue lashing from his former offensive coordinator. Sale said the demanding nature of practices made gamedays feel like a cakewalk. Walker also lauded Satterfield’s intensity in preparing him for the NFL.
“That’s, unfortunately, more of my memories from quarterback meetings with (Satterfield),” Huesman joked. “I got my (butt) ripped plenty when I was younger (by) not all the way knowing what to do on every play.”
Added Walker, chuckling: “I was probably chewed out by coach (Satterfield) over 25 times as a freshman. But that’s what I loved about it. I loved the standard that he held me to.”
South Carolina’s quarterback room, at present, is a smorgasbord of newcomers, highly touted returners, a coach-turned-player and a pair of walk-ons. But like he has at past stops, Satterfield has spent the bulk of the spring and summer coaching a system that’s bred success.
Whether it all clicks will be answered during Saturday’s season opener against Eastern Illinois.
“All those guys you mentioned (performed) at a high level,” Satterfield said when queried on a handful of his past proteges. “And I think these guys (at South Carolina) have all taken to it a little bit and we’re really not flinching.”
