South Carolina football announces starting QB for bowl game

The South Carolina football team has seen a ton of changes at the quarterback position over the last few days. First was the surprise commitment of former Heisman trophy candidate Spencer Rattler, who signed with the Gamecocks Tuesday after transferring from Oklahoma. While Rattler is set to join the 2022 roster, he’s not eligible to compete with the team this postseason.

Then came the announcement that Jason Brown would be leaving the program to pursue another opportunity for his final season of eligibility. Brown was the Gamecocks’ starter under center in each of the team’s last four games. He posted a 2-2 record in that time with SEC wins over Florida and Auburn. He will not be participating in the upcoming bowl game.

With Brown’s departure, the South Carolina football program has just three signal callers on campus. Luke Doty won’t make an appearance in the bowl game as he’s recovering from midseason foot surgery.

That leaves just two scholarship players at the position.

On Wednesday, head coach Shane Beamer let the media know which passer he’s turning to as the Gamecocks invade Charlotte for their bowl matchup against North Carolina.

Graduate transfer Zeb Noland will take the reins once again after starting four games this season.

Noland threw for 597 yards and six touchdowns in his six appearances this year. He’s best known for leading the Gamecocks to come-from-behind victories over East Carolina and Vanderbilt early in the season.

Gauthier will fill in at the backup role after attempting just one pass this year. He completed that pass for 19 yards in the season opener versus Eastern Illinois.

While those two will garner most of the workload, we could also see some creativity in the backfield. Expect Dakereon Joyner and Juju McDowell to run the wildcat package in order to give the North Carolina defense a variety of different looks.

The bowl game is set for December 30th at 11:30 AM ET and will be televised on ESPN.