What a difference a year makes for South Carolina’s QB depth, development
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer can breathe easy, at least for now.
After a 2021 season in which the Gamecocks started four different players under center — including converted graduate assistant Zeb Noland — USC’s quarterback room is noticeably deeper and more stable than it was a year ago.
With a group that includes Spencer Rattler, Luke Doty, Colten Gauthier and midyear enrollee Braden Davis, South Carolina’s second-year head coach is eagerly awaiting the first scrimmage of spring ball that’s slated for Saturday.
“Between Braden, Luke and Colten, along with Spencer, they’re all getting a ton of work,” Beamer said Tuesday. “We get a lot of reps in at practice, a lot of plays. There’s plenty of opportunities for those guys, and I’m eager to see those guys in a scrimmage situation on Saturday where the coaches aren’t out on the field and they’re having to communicate and operate the offense as well.”
Rattler remains the perceived front-runner to be QB1 in Columbia this fall. Developing the position in a time and world in which quarterback transfers can happen at any time, though, is a win for Beamer and his staff early in their second season.
Doty continues to be cleared for more and more activity by the day, Beamer said, as he works back from the foot injury that ended his season in 2021. And while he might spend a year sitting behind Rattler, that bodes well for the Gamecocks’ future at the position.
The former Myrtle Beach High star came to South Carolina as a top-100 recruit and the No. 4 dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 class. But for a player rated as highly as he was, Doty was raw. He began playing quarterback full-time in high school, while also logging some time at receiver.
Doty hasn’t redshirted since arriving in Columbia. He split time between receiver and quarterback before being thrust into full-time QB action as a freshman following injuries to Collin Hill and Ryan Hilinski. Doty ran away with the spring quarterback competition in 2021, but that aforementioned foot injury in fall camp forced him to miss the season after further aggravating it against Vanderbilt on Oct. 16.
Assuming he backs up Rattler, he’ll get a chance to truly develop in a way he hasn’t ever been afforded at the college level.
“He was doing a lot of different things in that 2020 season, then becomes the quarterback in a tough situation and then, automatically, he goes into 2021, he’s essentially the guy,” Beamer said. “... Really, he’s still young and doesn’t have a lot of experience. So certainly to be able to talk to and learn from Spencer — a guy who does have a ton of experience and has played in a lot of football games and has won a conference championship — is really beneficial for Luke.”
“Watching (Rattler) and the way that he does things, that’s helped me a lot, too,” Doty said last week. “Obviously, he is an older guy and he’s got a lot more experience than me. It’s been fun to have him and really just continue to build a relationship with him.”
The Gamecocks have also continued to build depth behind Rattler and Doty. Gauthier received rave reviews from Beamer on Tuesday for his progression. Davis, too, has also earned a number of reps early in spring ball.
Doty and Gauthier were the only two scholarship QBs on the roster in early 2021. Gauthier often gets lost in South Carolina’s quarterback equation — one that will later include four-star freshman Tanner Bailey when he arrives on campus. But after coming to USC as the highest-rated recruit to remain committed between the transfer of power between Will Muschamp and Beamer, he’s come far enough to garner attention in the offseason.
Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield spoke during fall camp last year on Gauthier’s ability to process information on the field. It hadn’t yet synced up with his physical ability, but the mental side of the position was there.
Beamer added that the 15 to 20 minutes of practice dedicated to the younger players on the roster benefited Gauthier as much as any player last fall.
“Colten is executing things at the line of scrimmage right now that NFL quarterbacks are doing now,” Satterfield said at the time. “We’re not we’re not executing like NFL quarterbacks yet, but from the mental standpoint of actually knowing the ‘why,’ I think that’s pretty cool that he’s already to that point.”
Though Rattler remains the odds-on favorite to start, a 2021 season in which the Gamecocks started four different quarterbacks ought to remind onlookers how crucial developing depth at the position can be.
So far, so good.
