USC Gamecocks Football

Gamecocks reach out to NC State transfer QB Devin Leary, report says

N.C. State quarterback Devin Leary (13) gets ready to head out onto the field to warmup before N.C. State’s game against Clemson at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.
N.C. State quarterback Devin Leary (13) gets ready to head out onto the field to warmup before N.C. State’s game against Clemson at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. ehyman@newsobserver.com

South Carolina is reportedly kicking the tires on a high-profile transfer quarterback.

USC is among the schools that have been in contact with N.C. State signal-caller Devin Leary, per a report from 247Sports’ Brian Dohn.

Said Dohn in an interview with 247Sports’ “College Football Recruiting Show”: “Notre Dame is involved, we’ll see what happens with them and (Texas QB) Hudson Card. Auburn has reached out. UCLA, who’s looking for a quarterback. South Carolina has reached out, because you want to see what happens with Spencer Rattler. Kentucky has reached out, though I keep hearing (Wisconsin QB) Graham Mertz with Kentucky. And Oregon has reached out.”

Leary is one of the hottest names on the transfer portal market this cycle following a prolific career in Raleigh. He finished his time with the Wolfpack completing 568 of 944 passes for 6,807 yards, 62 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

South Carolina’s quarterback situation for the 2023 season is a smidge unsettled. Rattler could conceivably play another year in Columbia, but has NFL Draft options to consider.

Fourth-year player Luke Doty would be the presumed front-runner to start if Rattler were to depart. Doty was the announced No. 1 quarterback heading into the 2021 season, but a foot injury limited him to just six games and he was relegated to backup duty when Rattler joined the roster.

South Carolina also added three quarterbacks in its 2022 class in four-star Tanner Bailey, three-star Braden Davis and walk-on Jalen Daniels. Bailey served as the third-string quarterback on trips to Florida and Clemson to close the year ahead of redshirt freshman Colten Gauthier.

The Gamecocks do not have a quarterback committed for the 2023 class but continue to try and flip South Florence QB LaNorris Sellers away from Syracuse.

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Ben Portnoy
The State
Ben Portnoy is The State’s South Carolina Gamecocks football beat writer. He’s a 10-time Associated Press Sports Editors award honoree and has earned recognition from the Mississippi Press Association and the National Sports Media Association. Portnoy previously covered Mississippi State for the Columbus Commercial Dispatch and Indiana football for the Journal Gazette in Ft. Wayne, IN.
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