Gamecocks Football 2012: 22 positions 22 days-Quarterback

The the almost final installment of 22 positions 22 days, Garnet and Cocky takes a look at the quarterbacks Steve Spurrier will trust his offense with this season.

I’m going to save the best for last, so let’s look at the guy the Head Ball Coach said could come in and play right away this year if something happened to the starter.

Dylan Thompson, a two-star prospect in 2010 according to Rivals.com, has come a long way this off season in Spurrier’s eyes.

The Boiling Springs, S.C. native is a 6-3, 212 lb redshirt sophomore and he won the most improved quarterback honors this spring.

Seth Strickland and Andrew Clifford follow Thompson on the depth chart, but the guy everyone is looking at is Connor Shaw.

The junior QB out of Flowery Branch G.A. in 8-1 as a starter, and over the last five games of 2011, no one had a better QB rating than Shaw.

He completed 65 percent of his passes last season for 1448 yards, 14 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He also ran 135 times for for 525 yards and eight touchdowns.

This year, everyone, including Spurrier (who hasn’t had many good things to say about his QBs at SC), expects big things from Shaw. It’s the first time in a while that the Gamecocks have had a surefire, undisputed starter heading into the season, and Shaw hasn’t had the off the field issues his predecessor, Stephen Garcia did.

Shaw’s put on muscle, improved his accuracy, and is staying in the pocket longer this year. I’m confident in saying the Gamecocks have a dark horse Heisman candidate at quarterback this season.

Another guy that will see time under center is Bruce Ellington.

The wildcat is not going away at Carolina, and Ellington had some success in it last season. The two-sport star threw four passes and connected on three of them for 27 yards. He was more dangerous with his legs, though, rushing 17 times for 106 yards and a touchdown.

For the first time in a long time, South Carolina’s quarterback situation is pretty much set in stone.

The Gamecocks find themselves No. 9 in both major polls to start the season and are a legit SEC championship contender.

Connor Shaw is one of the main reasons why.

You can have a healthy Marcus Lattimore for half a season and a Healthy Alshon Jeffery for the whole thing, win 11 games and still not win the SEC East.

This year, Carolina fans hope you can have a Lattimore for the entire year, a good quarterback to go with him, and an SEC Championship appearance at the end of the season.