Connor Mitch or Perry Orth? Time For Gamecocks To Name Dylan Thompson’s Backup At QB

It’s probably safe to say that despite a turn of events, South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Dylan Thompson will start against the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday despite a mild neck sprain.

It’s also safe to assume that we won’t be close to knowing whether redshirt freshman Connor Mitch or redshirt sophomore walk-on Perry Orth will be the official backup before then.

But I think it’s time for Steve Spurrier, G.A. Mangus and the staff to end the guessing game and go ahead and name Dylan Thompson’s backup right now.

I can understand that the staff is a little apprehensive about naming a backup because, well, there’s not really a whole lot to go on outside of practice and the spring game. I’ve started as many college football games as the two of them have combined, which, in case you were wondering, is zero. Orth was slotted as the #2 guy as recently as spring, but the staff never named a official backup, listing Orth and Mitch as co-number-twos. That sends a message to me that they have cold feet, that they aren’t 100% sure that they’re in good hands with Orth should they lose Thompson for any length of time. But why play their cards so close to the vest? Are they afraid that if they make a decision, they’ll damage the confidence of the other guy? Do they want to avoid the scrutiny of naming a walk-on ahead of a kid who was a four-star recruit and had several SEC programs wooing him?

So why not give one of those guys the official role of backup? Don’t assume Thompson will make it through the season unscathed; do yourself a favor and take some preventative measures so in the case that he does go down (during a game), both you and Orth/Mitch are 100% clear on who’s the next one up instead of having to make a split-second decision during the game.