As a guest on the Andy Staples Show Wednesday, South Carolina’s first-year head coach Shane Beamer was asked about his first quarterback competition in Columbia.
Second year Luke Doty goes to spring camp with two and a half games of initial experience in a Gamecocks uniform, most of the trio of quarterbacks on scholarships. 2021 class signatory and early registrant Colten Gauthier has been on campus since early January and was followed by the transfer of FCS Saint Francis Jason Brown, which was an honorable mention for all American praise.
Beamer signed Doty when asked about his quarterbacks.
“I’m excited about Luke,” said Beamer. “He has all the qualities, he’s a good athlete, he knows how to run and I can already see what he’s doing in the weight room. He’s a guy with natural leadership qualities, he’s a very talented defender and a great young man. I’m excited to see what he can do and put these other guys in the competition and see where we are in that position. “
WATCH: Beamer’s Full Interview with The Athletic’s Staples | Wednesday morning recruiting notes (VIP)
A four-star quarterback from Myrtle Beach, Doty was 43 of 71 (60.6 percent) for 405 yards of tasing with two touchdowns and three interceptions plus 41 charges for 91 yards of racing in eight games. Comparing South Carolina’s 2020 and 2021 lists, Doty dropped six pounds, from 210 to 204 pounds.
Brown, a senior redshirt with Gamecocks, led the NEC in passing yards (3,084) and touchdowns (28) in 2019. In six games last year, he played for 1,878 yards and 20 touchdowns. Gauthier played 34 games during his three-year career for the Hebron Christian Academy, completing 444 of 811 passes for 6,541 yards with 61 touchdowns. As a senior, he had 156 of 300 passes for 2,052 yards with 22 touchdowns.
“It will be a fun spring,” said Beamer. “This position as a defender is no different from other positions. We have competition everywhere and I can’t wait to get there next month and start working with them ”.
Doty has more experience in South Carolina, Brown has more experience in college and Gauthier comes from high school. All three will be on the offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfieldthe system for the first time.
Will Beamer wait to nominate its holder until the opening week of the season? He was recently on a team that did this with an eventual Heisman Trophy winner.
“I still remember my first year in Oklahoma,” said Beamer. “It was a week and a half away and we hadn’t nominated Kyler (Murray) the initiator. Lincoln (Riley) said, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘What do I think? I think that number one is very good.
“What matters is the competition. This is a fundamental value of ours in everything we do inside and outside this building. “