Luke Doty’s career ending after six seasons with South Carolina. What’s next?
Out of everyone in the South Carolina football locker room, no one has seen more than Luke Doty.
Doty, 24, has worn a lot of hats in six seasons with Gamecocks. He’s been the starting quarterback, a wide receiver, a special-teamer and has spent the last two years as a quasi-coach. After Saturday’s rivalry game against Clemson, Doty will officially be out of eligibility.
So what’s next for USC’s elder statesman? Doty said he’d like to be a coach.
He already received his bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in coaching education from the university. After he takes his final exams this semester, his time as a USC student is also over.
His area of focus in his studies was mental performance, and Doty said that’s something he’s tried to implement into his role on the sidelines this season.
“Making sure everybody’s mentally in the right place, knowing what they’re supposed to do whenever they get out on the field, having their eyes in the right place, and just kind of helping them develop a process for how they go about things,” Doty said. “Just kind of help them out in any way that I can to make sure that they’re not only confident in their ability but themselves whenever they step out on the field. So it’s been pretty cool.”
Doty’s approach to helping others from the sidelined helped him earn the moniker “Coach Doty” from Gamecock defensive backs coach Torrian Gray, he said. Doty added that the player-coach role is something he embraces.
“When I’m not out on the field, I can still be there and engaged with my teammates, and it also helps me to stay engaged within the game plan,” he said. “Talking ball with the guys is something that I think is good for developing relationships, too.”
Becoming a coach wasn’t necessarily the original plan. Doty was once a four-star recruit at Myrtle Beach High School and the No. 2 player in South Carolina. He was expected to start as a sophomore in 2021, head coach Shane Beamer’s first season with the team, before he was sidelined with a foot injury and never quite got back on course.
Doty said he has no regrets about staying with USC for six seasons rather than transferring for playing time or leaving school with leftover eligibility.
“I don’t like to live my life with regret. I like to believe that everything happens for a reason, and I get put in positions for a reason. That was what my role was supposed to be this year,” he said. “Just be there as a guide to help LaNorris [Sellers], help encourage some of these young guys, and really get them prepared to play later on down the road.”
Beamer said he appreciated the stability Doty brought in the transition from previous USC coach Will Muschamp to the new regime, and he’d be happy to keep his veteran QB around on the Gamecock staff.
“I lean on him a lot for stuff. If there’s things I got a feeling about within the team, I’ll pick the phone up and call him and be like, ‘Hey, man, what’s the deal here?’” Beamer said. “He and I haven’t had that conversation, but yeah, if he was interested in getting into coaching, and he wanted to continue to try and stay around here, sign me up.”
Whatever Doty ends up doing next, just don’t expect him to quit.
“My dad told me the first year that I played football was, ‘Hey, it’s OK if you don’t like it, but if you’re going to start this thing, you’re going to finish it.’” he said. “And I think that’s something that I’ve carried with me throughout my career: No matter what you start, you finish.”
