South Carolina football: Collin Hill needs help from receivers

The South Carolina football team is near the top of the SEC in dropped passes.

Collin Hill has been a welcomed surprise for Gamecock fans so far this season, completely turning around an offense that reached the endzone just once over its final three contests last year. What’s more impressive is that he’s doing it with little to no help from some of his teammates.

Entering the offseason, there seemed to be a unanimous assumption among the fanbase that Ryan Hilinski would continue on as the team’s starting quarterback, after starting 11 games in 2019. Instead, it was Hill who won the job, following his coordinator Mike Bobo from Colorado State as a transfer.

Now, he’s got the Gamecock offense scoring at a clip of more than 25 points a game, with those results coming against two of the league’s better defenses in Tennessee and Florida. He’s spreading the rock around, protecting the football, and putting the Gamecocks in a position to score.

His average of 250 passing yards per game is far more impressive than the 206 yards an outing that South Carolina put up against Power Five opponents last season.

So, what’s keeping the offense from taking that next step?

The answer is drops.

According to SEC Stat Cat, Collin Hill has the second-highest drop rate among quarterbacks the conference, at nearly 13%. That means one in every eight pass attempts is hitting Gamecock receivers in the hands, only to have the ball fall to the turf.

The 13% drop rate is twice the conference average, and it’s cost the team chances to keep drives moving and put points on the board. Those are two things that can’t happen when you’re competing in close games, as the Gamecocks have been over these first two weeks of the season.

What’s most disheartening is that the majority of these drops, particularly in the Florida game, would’ve gone for first downs or touchdowns. A key drop in the Tennessee game from tight end Nick Muse also cost the Gamecocks a chance to tie late in the fourth quarter.

Even star wideout Shi Smith has been guilty. He’s hauled in an SEC leading 22 catches through the first couple of games, but in week one had a ball slip through his hands which was swiftly picked off by a Tennessee linebacker and returned for a score. It’s Hill’s only turnover of the year.

In game two, Smith dropped a touchdown that would’ve pulled the Gamecocks to within seven points with about a minute remaining in the game. Both were big, and had they gone the other way, South Carolina wouldn’t be staring this 0-2 start in the face.

The Gamecocks are going to start helping their quarterback out and cut down on the six drops per game they’re currently averaging. Hopefully we see a change in week three versus Vanderbilt. Hill can’t do much more, his teammates need to help him out.