The University of South Carolina football team is ready to repeat as the SEC Eastern Divisional champions and the fans certainly share that appetite as well. With a few months standing in between the pursuit of Gamecock glory beginning, one way to satisfy the thirst is to begin to look at the team. Over the next few weeks, we will shine the spotlight on each position and what the Gamecocks have in their arsenal to mount a challenge in getting back to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game.
Let’s start this off with a look at the most talked about position – quarterback. Lots of storylines with who is going to be under center for USC in 2011, this will look strictly at the players and leave the off-the-field hoopla for the imagination.
The likely candidate to start as the quarterback of Spurrier’s offense is the returning quarterback from 2010 – Stephen Garcia. Agree or disagree with his actions throughout his career, the underlying reality is Garcia presents the best chance for USC to repeat as SEC East champs. Knowing this and knowing what he has done, the young man is doing all that is asked of him by University officials in order to remain a part of the team. He may not start against East Carolina in game 1 but he will get the majority of snaps in 2011.
Knowing that, let’s breakdown the quarterback position for South Carolina:
Stephen Garcia (Redshirt Senior / 6’2”, 230 lbs.) – The Lutz, Florida native had his best season as a Gamecock in 2010. He threw for 3,059 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and had a 148.7 quarterback rating. Stephen Garcia has started 28 straight games for the Gamecocks, he has gotten better each year and he is USC’s best chance at having a very big season.
Connor Shaw (Sophomore / 6’1” 202 lbs.) – Shaw is and will be a good quarterback but in the SEC it is about composure in the pocket. Obtaining that necessary ingredient comes with experience, something Shaw lacks and with what USC has returning on offense it is something USC needs. Shaw played in nine games as a true freshman in 2010; he completed 69.7 percent of his passes (23-of-33) for 223 yards. He also was the team’s fourth-leading rusher, gaining 165 yards on 32 carries in 2010.
Shaw will play a good bit in 2011 and may get the nod against ECU to help prove another point to Stephen Garcia but as long as Garcia is a member of the team, then Shaw is the number two.
After those two, there are a few players on the depth chart but none that will make noise in 2011 as it will be either Shaw or Garcia being the gun-slinger. In saying that, there is always “mop up duty” and here are some names you could hear with a pass here or there:
Dylan Thompson (RS Sophomore / 6’3” 210 lbs.) – Thompson had arguably the best Spring Practice out of the quarterback unit with Stephen Garcia “missing-in-action.” He has talent but has two guys in front of him that will limit his presence on the field in 2011. If there is a QB, other than the two mentioned earlier, that will see some snaps in 2011, it will be Thompson. He has a strong arm and he may get some opportunities to air it out or take a knee.
Andrew Clifford (RS Sophomore / 6’3” 225 lbs.) – Clifford is an accurate passer but not a lot of “snap” on his throws. He adds depth to the position and mainly will be the guy helping to send in signals, running the scout team in 2011 and get a pass or two in live action in extreme cases (i.e. blow outs).
Seth Strickland (RS Junior / 6’2” 193 lbs.) – You may know and hear about Strickland more as a member of the Special Teams unit rather than as a quarterback due to his emergence as the holder on field goal attempts. You will find him doing a lot of what Clifford will be doing yet he will see more live games due his role as the holder.
Tanner McEvoy (Incoming Freshman / 6’5” 200 lbs.) – McEvoy is a year away from making the quarterback position at South Carolina interesting. He has great tools and could really use a year learning from G.A. Magnus and Steve Spurrier. So look for him to redshirt and soak up everything. However, remember the name as he will be in the mix for the starting role in 2012.
So there you have the breakdown and as you can see, there are really only two logical choices for Coach Spurrier in 2011 with one clear frontrunner to aid the Gamecocks along their quest for SEC glory. Stephen Garcia, love him or hate him, is the best option for USC at quarterback in 2011.
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*The above article first appeared on www.southernpigskin.com as part of our coverage of the USC Gamecocks for the site.
