South Carolina Football: 3 biggest 2021 offseason questions for Gamecocks

1. Who will be QB1 for South Carolina in 2021?

After the 2019 season, there was hope the quarterback position was going to be set with Ryan Hilinski was going to lead USC to a rebound season in 2020. Instead, Hilinski struggled in the offseason which allowed Collin Hill to take over as the starting quarterback for eight games.

To make matters worse for South Carolina and new offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield, Hilinski is in the transfer portal and Hill declared early for the 2021 NFL Draft.

There will be some interesting players for Satterfield to pick for the starting quarterback of the Gamecocks in 2021. As a freshman this season, Luke Doty started the final two games. Doty passed for 405 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 109.3. His best performance was in a home loss to Georgia when he passed for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 18-of-22 completions.

Doty will be competing against incoming freshman Colten Gauthier, who enrolled early. Gauthier is the 23rd-ranked pro-style quarterback in the 2021 class who has great feet, arm mechanics and vision to get the ball to target effectively. He is also a powerful and elusive runner which will allow Satterfield to open up the playbook.

USC will look to add more efficiency and productivity to the offense and passing game after they were ranked 98th in points (23.5) and 104th in passing yards per game (187.2).