South Carolina football: looking at all the quarterback options
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina football coaches could hit the transfer portal for a QB.
If Hilinski sticks to his decision to transfer, Shane Beamer and Co. could find themselves in the transfer portal. It’s a situation that Beamer should be familiar with, though, dating back to his time at Oklahoma.
The Sooners played with transfer quarterback Kyler Murray in the 2018 season, before he was selected as a first-round pick in the following draft. Murray won the Heisman trophy, becoming the second straight transfer quarterback to bring the award home to Norman, and he helped lead the Sooners to an appearance in the Orange Bowl.
South Carolina won’t expect to find a Heisman candidate in the portal, but Beamer can definitely utilize it as a way of bringing in quality depth to the Gamecocks’ quarterback room. With only two scholarship options, both of whom are underclassmen, South Carolina needs to bring in an experienced leader to help with the development of its budding stars.
And as the Gamecocks have seen in each of the last two seasons, the opening day starter doesn’t always make it to the end of the year, so having depth is a necessity.
Former four-star passers from West Virginia, Miami, Auburn, Maryland, Ole Miss, Florida State, and North Carolina are currently in the portal, meaning there are options available should the Gamecocks need to go this route. Time will tell whether or not the coaching staff will need to rely on this growing option as a way to fill out its quarterback room.