South Carolina quarterback room taking shape ahead of Beamer’s second spring game
South Carolina’s quarterback situation is sorting itself out.
Head coach Shane Beamer reiterated to reporters on Tuesday that Oklahoma transfer Spencer Rattler has taken the bulk of the first-team reps under center, while Luke Doty, as of today, would be the No. 2 QB on the depth chart.
“They’ve all been mixing in with that second group during the scrimmage,” Beamer said of Doty, Colten Gauthier and Braden Davis. “Braden and Colten and Luke all worked with the second team in the scrimmage the other day. Spencer got all the work the first group in the scrimmage the other day. They mix it up during practice.”
That Rattler is the starting quarterback, or at least should be barring something unforeseen, heading into Saturday’s spring game isn’t surprising. The former Sooner was among the hottest names in this year’s transfer portal cycle. Beamer and his staff led a coup in convincing him to head east and enroll at South Carolina.
Rattler headed into last season as a perceived Heisman front-runner. A drama-filled duel with five-star freshman quarterback Caleb Williams landed Rattler on the bench and, eventually, in need of a new home.
The Arizona native has been lauded by coaches and teammates throughout the spring for his work getting to know his new squad. Heading into the spring game seemingly as the No. 1 quarterback was simply the next step in the equation.
“I think it’s just being natural, be authentic,” Rattler said last month of how he’s handled adjusting to a new quarterback room. “We all have a good time when we’re hanging out (in the) QB room, workouts — we all lift together. It’s just a natural feel.”
While Rattler taking over as QB1 was mostly a foregone conclusion, the backup job was, at least on some level, a bit of a question mark.
Doty lost the bulk of his second season at South Carolina due to a foot injury he suffered during fall camp and that was later aggravated against Vanderbilt on Oct. 16. It led to surgery and months on a scooter.
The Myrtle Beach product has been rehabbing in the months since and entered spring ball on a limited basis. He’s slowly matriculated into full-speed work and, during the open portion of Tuesday’s practice, worked seemingly without limitations during two-point conversion drills.
“Watching (Rattler) and the way that he does things, that’s helped me a lot, too,” Doty said in March. “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.”
Behind Doty, Colten Gauthier and Braden Davis present upside given their physical traits and youth. Beamer noted the pair each got runs with the No. 2 offense during last week’s scrimmage, including a long run by Davis.
Gauthier was the highest-rated recruit in the transitional 2020 class between Beamer and his predecessor, Will Muschamp. He’s been blessed with a rocket arm and a physical stature at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds that he could help him evolve into a college starter. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield has also highlighted how quickly Gauthier has picked up the necessary verbiage to succeed in his system.
“Colten is executing things at the line of scrimmage right now that NFL quarterbacks are doing now,” Satterfield said in August. “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.”
South Carolina’s quarterback situation was never so much a mystery as it was simply a matter of time until it sorted itself out through spring ball and, perhaps, into fall camp.
Rattler should be the No. 1 quarterback when Saturday’s spring game kicks off under the lights at Williams-Brice Stadium. Doty, too, ought to be the second signal-caller used.
But if there’s anything to be learned from last year’s four-quarterback conundrum in Columbia, it’s that there’s ample value in each of USC’s four scholarship QBs getting reps in the closest thing they’ll get to a preseason game in the current structure of college football.
“These guys deserve a great crowd out there on Saturday night for the way that they’ve worked since they came back in January to start the spring semester and then with what they’ve done through spring practice as well,” Beamer said. “I hope we’ll have an amazing crowd out there on Saturday night.”
South Carolina spring game information
What: Garnet and Black Spring Game
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium — Columbia, S.C.
TV/Streaming: SEC Network Plus
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
