Luke Doty named South Carolina’s Mr. Football
Luke Doty capped off his senior season with one of the state’s most prestigious awards.
The Myrtle Beach quarterback and South Carolina commitment was named SC’s Mr. Football on Saturday. The award was announced during halftime of the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.
“To win it on Doug Shaw, it means a lot. I’m going to miss playing here, that’s for sure,” Doty said. “I’m going to miss rocking out on Friday nights. But I’m just so thankful for winning this award and for Myrtle Beach.”
Other finalists were Chapman’s Mikele Colasurdo (Georgia State), Byrnes Rahjai Harris (East Carolina), Dutch Fork’s Jalin Hyatt (Tennessee), Laurens’ Duane Martin (Louisville), Daniel’s Tyler Venables (Clemson), and Saluda’s Noah Bell (undecided).
With the latest honor, Doty sweeps the top two awards in the state. He was named the Palmetto Champions Back of the Year last week. He is the third straight future Gamecock player to win the award. Dakereon Joyner won it 2017 and Zacch Pickens last year.
Doty threw for 1,864 yards, rushed for 404 and accounted for 29 total touchdowns this season. He didn’t play a lot in the second half of most games with Myrtle Beach up big.
His season was cut short because of a hand injury suffered in the first round of the playoffs against Lakewood. But he remained active and a vital part of the team as Myrtle Beach made it to its second straight Class 4A championship game.
Doty won’t play in this week’s Shrine Bowl but will sign with USC on Wednesday. He plans to enroll in January and will battle rising sophomore Ryan Hilinski for the Gamecocks’ starting QB job.
“They’re getting a guy who is going to put his head down and work,” Doty said. “That’s what I’m looking to do as soon as I get there in January, just get in there and grind and do everything I can to get on the field and play.“
Players’ academic records and off-field activities are considerations for for the award, and Doty is among the top performers academically in his class.
“Being top 4 percent of my class and [having] one of the highest GPAs in the school, the things I do in the classroom are some of the things I’m more proud of than obviously this [award],” Doty said. “It goes a lot farther than football, and I just know with that kind of education and going on to get a degree and doing something else I love, being in the classroom and learning, that’s going to take me a long ways as well.”
Mr. Football recipients
Year Name, Position, School, College
1995 Jermale Kelley, WR Berea South Carolina
1996 Kyle Young, OL Daniel Clemson
1997 Chris Hope, DB Rock Hill Florida State
1998 Derek Watson, RB Palmetto South Carolina
1999 Mark Logan, QB Greenwood Georgia Tech
2000 Roscoe Crosby, WR Union Clemson
2001 Moe Thompson, DE Stratford South Carolina
2002 Eric McCollom, QB Camden Iowa
2003 Trey Elder, QB Byrnes Appalachian State
2004 J.D. Melton, QB Myrtle Beach Navy
2005 Prince Miller, DB Byrnes Georgia
2006 Malcolm Long, QB Gaffney South Carolina State
2007 Richard Mounce, QB Blythewood Charleston Southern
2008 Stephon Gilmore, CB South Pointe South Carolina
2009 Marcus Lattimore, RB Byrnes South Carolina
2010 Jadeveon Clowney, DE South Pointe South Carolina
2011 Shaq Roland, WR Lexington South Carolina
2012 Tramel Terry, WR Goose Creek Georgia
2013 Jacob Park, QB Stratford Georgia
2014 Matthew Colburn, RB Dutch Fork Wake Forest
2015 Tavien Feaster, RB Spartanburg Clemson
2016 Gage Moloney, QB Northwestern James Madison
2017 Dakereon Joyner, QB Fort Dorchester South Carolina
2018 Zacch Pickens, DE T.L. Hanna South Carolina
2019 Luke Doty, QB Myrtle Beach South Carolina
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 1:53 PM.
