South Carolina football: SDS ranks the conference’s starting quarterbacks

Connor O’Gara is not high on South Carolina football’s starting QB.

As we exit Spring practice, it’s looking more and more likely that sophomore signal caller Luke Doty will lead the Gamecocks into action come September. That notion was solidified by the statements of Doty’s head coach following the Garnet and Black Game last Sunday.

"“Unless something totally changes between now and when we watch the tape, Luke Doty is our starting quarterback.”"

Doty is entering year two in Columbia, after making starts in the Gamecocks’ final two games of 2020. With a depleted roster and the inexperience of a freshman quarterback, the offense struggled for the majority of Doty’s time under center, but early signs from the offseason seem to point in the direction of improvement.

The dual-threat passer can hurt you with his legs, but certainly has some work to do with his arm. If the Gamecocks want to be successful, the passing accuracy has to improve, but there’s still time for that. The new staff is more impressed with the things that aren’t taught, like work ethic and leadership, which the Myrtle Beach native is oozing with.

The potential is there, but many are still skeptical of Doty after last year’s showing. One of these skeptics is Saturday Down South writer Connor O’Gara. O’Gara recently ranked the SEC’s (projected) starting quarterbacks from first to worst, and he’s got the South Carolina signal caller sitting at 13th on the 14-man list. His premise for these rankings is simple – who would you want leading your team if the season started today? It’s not a guess at who will be the best passer come season’s end, so there’s no reason for Gamecocks to get up in arms over Doty’s low rating.

Here’s what O’Gara had to say about Doty.

"For South Carolina fans/all humans who don’t understand why I’m not higher on Doty, it’s pretty simple. You have to be able to consistently sustain drives with your arm to win in this league. Doty, in the limited sample size we got last year, basically had 1 long completion in the 3 games he started, and it was on a trick play to the tight end. He has yet to lead a 20-point offensive effort, which was partially because of South Carolina’s depleted roster down the stretch.That was an odd season for a true freshman like Doty to take over. I almost want to wipe that from my brain and let him start over after he averaged 5.7 yards per passing attempt. Marcus Satterfield’s offense could do him wonders. Or it could remind us that there aren’t a whole lot of options in Columbia."

O’Gara’s concerns are valid, as the question surrounding Doty’s potential revolves around his ability to throw the football. The athleticism is certainly there, and I think we’ll see him get to use that a bit more under his new offensive coordinator. My guess is that he’ll be a bit higher on this list come November.

In the Gamecocks’ Spring Game, Doty threw for 54 yards on 5-of-7 passing, leading his offense to two scoring drives. He outplayed reserves Jason Brown and Colten Gauthier, and further earned the praise of his head coach.

As a starter last year, he threw for 175 yards on 29-of-47 passing. Those two starts came against arguably the two toughest defenses on the South Carolina roster in Georgia and Kentucky. Doty also played versus Missouri, nearly leading a second half comeback after entering the contest with the Gamecocks down 17-0. He threw for 130 yards against the Tigers, and added another 59 on the ground, showing off his athleticism.

Doty will look to keep that starting role as the offseason continues. We’ll see if his play this Fall can sway the opinion of O’Gara and the rest of his doubters.