South Carolina football: Colten Gauthier signs with Gamecocks
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina football landed its top target in the 2021 class.
South Carolina landed its top target in the class of 2021, as quarterback prospect Colten Gauthier inked a letter of intent early Wednesday morning. The signal caller becomes the first player to officially join the class, and he plans to immediately challenge returning signal callers Ryan Hilinski and Luke Doty for playing time.
Gauthier is rated as a four-star prospect, tallying a third straight class where the Gamecocks have landed one of the nation’s top passers. Next year’s class could repeat the feat, as long as top dual threat quarterback Gunner Stockton stays in the boat.
The Georgia native originally committed to Will Muschamp’s staff back in March, but stuck to that pledge through the recent coaching change, and will now play for Shane Beamer over the next few seasons.
As a senior, Gauthier completed 52% of his passes, 2,052 yards and 22 touchdowns. He headed an air raid offense in high school, which could benefit him nicely as the new coaching staff seems adamant on installing a version of the air raid scheme in Columbia, similar to the offense run at Shane Beamer’s last stop Oklahoma.
The incoming freshman chose the Gamecocks over Central Florida and Ole Miss, and he’ll look to make an immediate impact to the coaching staff. He spoke with Shane Beamer shortly after the hire.
"“Coach Beamer called me yesterday and we got to talk,” Gauthier said in an interview with 247 Sports. “He said he was super excited for me to get there and he loves the way I play. He also told me he loves what I’m about.”"
All in all, it seems that Gauthier is excited to be in Columbia, and he’s coming in with a great attitude as the school goes through its latest transition.
"“I’m excited to be a part of the new era at the University of South Carolina.”"
We’ll have to wait and see what kind of impact he can make in his rookie year, but it looks like he’s putting himself in a good position to succeed.