When Rob writes his match up article next week, every edge will go to the Vols. SC is just a horrible team in every respect. For now, their quarterback situation.
The Gamecocks have two quarterback, maybe three. Each is a pretty unusual story.
Perry Orth is a walk on senior who has “won” a starting role last year and for half of this year, by default. He is not a SEC quarterback, but can get hot if not pressured and loves to chunk it down the field. Even he says that is his thing. His problem is inconsistency. One play he can make a great throw and look like a high school third stringer on the next. Does that sound familiar? He is pretty good when he has time but with the pressure put on him most of the time, that is not often the case. He has a tendency to hold the ball too long and when combined with a porous OL, that can spell sacks. In his case, he often throws it up for grabs when pressured too. He often throws short on long passes when pressured. He is not a runner but is not horrible on that front.
Putting pressure on the quarterback is always a good formula for stopping a team but in this case, it is even more pronounced because of the tendencies mentioned above. My guess is Roth will start. We should have our opportunities for sacks and possible interceptions.
Roth’s biggest asset is probably his leadership. He is unselfish and has helped the frosh McIlwain all he can, even though they have split starting evenly. He has gained the respect of his teammates and if he chooses, IMO would probably make fine coach some day. Good kid by all accounts.
Brandon McIlwain is another unusual story. He was projected as a first round pick in the ML draft, some picking him as a first choice overall. But early on he chose SC and stayed with them through the Spurrier fiasco and the hiring of a new coach. It was a head scratcher but it turns out his parents are both SC grads. He was an early enrollee. I have seen the kid play some baseball and he is a heck of an athlete. I played semi-pro baseball for a couple of years so I know the game and I loved his bat speed.
I told this board last summer that by the time we played SC he would be the starter and it was looking that way, but he was benched in the T&M game and Orth has started since. Orth really lit up the Aggies when he came in.
I am still trying to figure out why he did not choose baseball. He is listed as 6’0 but no matter who is in the huddle, they are all taller. My guess is he is more 5’10”. He has good wheels, both scrambling and when he is in much of the offense shifts into QG draws and designed QB running plays. If he is in and they are near the goal, look for him to run a misdirection keeper. But his passing has gotten worse as the year has progressed. This is probably due to constant pressure and his lack of experience. He too holds the ball too long. His passing accuracy is bad so far, probably due to pressure and inexperience. I think he has a good arm but no real opportunity to showcase it. You get that when you do not have a running game; when you do not have receivers; and when your OL is on life support.
When he passes, it is almost always to the flanks. If I have picked up on that, you know opposing coaches have. I think that he may be too short to see over the middle, especially with D linemen all over him most of the time. IMO he has no football future after college, making the baseball decision kind of weird IMO.
There is a good chance he will play. The key is to contain him. The Aggies ate his lunch all day long so I am sure coaches are going to look at that film a lot.
The maybe third quarterback is the mystery man in this puzzle, Jake Bentley. This is another strange story and my “sources” (see my part 1 post) tell me some interesting observations. First, the story. Jake is reported to be the highest ranked QB recruit in SC history and it is obvious he is at SC because his dad is a coach there. He has the physical tools and looks the part. From the beginning almost everyone thought Mcllwain was the future of SC quarterbacking. But Bentley graduated from HS a year early and enrolled at USC. He has been destined to be a redshirt from the beginning, although with the Gamecock offense going no where he has become the savior on the bench with the faithful. . Even this week Muschamp would not say he would not yank his redshirt, and even hinted that he was considering it. That just makes no sense. SC is likely to win two more games,- against UMass and Western Carolina. Vandy and Kentucky are in their rear view mirror so even if Bentley is the second coming he has yet to take a college snap and has also has not been getting reps in practice, at least for game preparation. Unless there is an injury and he must play, this talk about burning his redshirt is horse hockey. Do not look for him to play.
Someone who works with the coaches on a regular (non-football basis) told me that the coaches felt that Bentley had a bigger upside than McIlwain, but it was absolutely necessary to have McIlwain on campus and ready to play as best he could as a freshman because there was not really any option beyond Orth. That is why that Bentley gave up his HS senior season. His dad being on staff, they had to like their chances he could come in, redshirt and learn the system, and compete for the starting spot next year. With Roth gone, and McIlwain not seeming to progress it looks as if that calculation may have legs. Time will tell.
Conclusion The QB situation at USC is a mess. Muschamp has few options and none of those can produce wins, even against teams like Kentucky. Even a first rate QB would have difficulty scoring with this team. The running game is a mess, and the receivers are thin at best. The OL is a disaster. That will all come later in part 3 next .
UT has a golden opportunity here to stop SC in their tracks. If we have any players left and stay focused we should keep SC at or near the bottom of national and SEC offensive
The Gamecocks have two quarterback, maybe three. Each is a pretty unusual story.
Perry Orth is a walk on senior who has “won” a starting role last year and for half of this year, by default. He is not a SEC quarterback, but can get hot if not pressured and loves to chunk it down the field. Even he says that is his thing. His problem is inconsistency. One play he can make a great throw and look like a high school third stringer on the next. Does that sound familiar? He is pretty good when he has time but with the pressure put on him most of the time, that is not often the case. He has a tendency to hold the ball too long and when combined with a porous OL, that can spell sacks. In his case, he often throws it up for grabs when pressured too. He often throws short on long passes when pressured. He is not a runner but is not horrible on that front.
Putting pressure on the quarterback is always a good formula for stopping a team but in this case, it is even more pronounced because of the tendencies mentioned above. My guess is Roth will start. We should have our opportunities for sacks and possible interceptions.
Roth’s biggest asset is probably his leadership. He is unselfish and has helped the frosh McIlwain all he can, even though they have split starting evenly. He has gained the respect of his teammates and if he chooses, IMO would probably make fine coach some day. Good kid by all accounts.
Brandon McIlwain is another unusual story. He was projected as a first round pick in the ML draft, some picking him as a first choice overall. But early on he chose SC and stayed with them through the Spurrier fiasco and the hiring of a new coach. It was a head scratcher but it turns out his parents are both SC grads. He was an early enrollee. I have seen the kid play some baseball and he is a heck of an athlete. I played semi-pro baseball for a couple of years so I know the game and I loved his bat speed.
I told this board last summer that by the time we played SC he would be the starter and it was looking that way, but he was benched in the T&M game and Orth has started since. Orth really lit up the Aggies when he came in.
I am still trying to figure out why he did not choose baseball. He is listed as 6’0 but no matter who is in the huddle, they are all taller. My guess is he is more 5’10”. He has good wheels, both scrambling and when he is in much of the offense shifts into QG draws and designed QB running plays. If he is in and they are near the goal, look for him to run a misdirection keeper. But his passing has gotten worse as the year has progressed. This is probably due to constant pressure and his lack of experience. He too holds the ball too long. His passing accuracy is bad so far, probably due to pressure and inexperience. I think he has a good arm but no real opportunity to showcase it. You get that when you do not have a running game; when you do not have receivers; and when your OL is on life support.
When he passes, it is almost always to the flanks. If I have picked up on that, you know opposing coaches have. I think that he may be too short to see over the middle, especially with D linemen all over him most of the time. IMO he has no football future after college, making the baseball decision kind of weird IMO.
There is a good chance he will play. The key is to contain him. The Aggies ate his lunch all day long so I am sure coaches are going to look at that film a lot.
The maybe third quarterback is the mystery man in this puzzle, Jake Bentley. This is another strange story and my “sources” (see my part 1 post) tell me some interesting observations. First, the story. Jake is reported to be the highest ranked QB recruit in SC history and it is obvious he is at SC because his dad is a coach there. He has the physical tools and looks the part. From the beginning almost everyone thought Mcllwain was the future of SC quarterbacking. But Bentley graduated from HS a year early and enrolled at USC. He has been destined to be a redshirt from the beginning, although with the Gamecock offense going no where he has become the savior on the bench with the faithful. . Even this week Muschamp would not say he would not yank his redshirt, and even hinted that he was considering it. That just makes no sense. SC is likely to win two more games,- against UMass and Western Carolina. Vandy and Kentucky are in their rear view mirror so even if Bentley is the second coming he has yet to take a college snap and has also has not been getting reps in practice, at least for game preparation. Unless there is an injury and he must play, this talk about burning his redshirt is horse hockey. Do not look for him to play.
Someone who works with the coaches on a regular (non-football basis) told me that the coaches felt that Bentley had a bigger upside than McIlwain, but it was absolutely necessary to have McIlwain on campus and ready to play as best he could as a freshman because there was not really any option beyond Orth. That is why that Bentley gave up his HS senior season. His dad being on staff, they had to like their chances he could come in, redshirt and learn the system, and compete for the starting spot next year. With Roth gone, and McIlwain not seeming to progress it looks as if that calculation may have legs. Time will tell.
Conclusion The QB situation at USC is a mess. Muschamp has few options and none of those can produce wins, even against teams like Kentucky. Even a first rate QB would have difficulty scoring with this team. The running game is a mess, and the receivers are thin at best. The OL is a disaster. That will all come later in part 3 next .
UT has a golden opportunity here to stop SC in their tracks. If we have any players left and stay focused we should keep SC at or near the bottom of national and SEC offensive
