South Carolina locks down 2021 QB commit with Colten Gauthier out of Georgia

When Dacula, Georgia quarterback Colten Gauthier rolled into a South Carolina football camp last June, his family was decked out in Gamecocks gear.

Now he’s made his decision and in a few years, he’ll be wearing garnet and black.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder from Hebron Christian Academy announced his commitment Wednesday to South Carolina, giving USC its quarterback for the 2021 class.

“Thank you to Coach Muschamp and Coach Bobo as well as the university and the program for believing in me and giving me the chance to further my career at a high level and do what I love,” Gauthier wrote in his commitment tweet. “With that being said I’m exited to announce my commitment to the University of South Carolina! Spurs up!”

He got a special throwing session with then-quarterbacks coach Dan Werner and Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp the last time he camped. Since then, he’d built a bond with new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.

Gauthier is the No. 473 player in the country for 2021 according to the early 247Sports Composite rankings. He’s the 18th-best pro-style passer and No. 38 player in Georgia. His other offers included Florida State, Arkansas, Iowa, Ole Miss, UCF, Louisville, Virginia Tech, West Virginia.

He is rated as a consensus three-star and a four-star by Rivals. He’s the third commit for South Carolina for 2021, joining receiver Sam Reynolds (Alabaster, Alabama) and defensive back Demarko Williams (Atlanta).

Last season, Gauthier threw for 2,401 yards, 20 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, connecting on 56.7 percent of his passes. He ran for 10 touchdowns and led his team to a 8-5 record.

Gauthier will join a QB room with Luke Doty, Ryan Hilinski and Jay Urich. South Carolina is in the midst of installing a new offense, but had spring practice interrupted by the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak.

This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 2:24 PM.