South Carolina quarterbacks continue to support each other throughout season, despite competition
Portrayals of starting quarterback battles across the country are almost always described as simply “competition.” In these situations, each quarterback is trying to do everything he can to earn the distinction of being named “QB1.”
As far as South Carolina is concerned, its quarterback competition – specifically for the team’s season opener against Old Dominion on Saturday – was formally concluded on Tuesday. Shane Beamer announced that highly-touted redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers would lead the Gamecocks’ offense against the Monarchs. Robby Ashford, who the Gamecocks acquired from Auburn via the transfer portal this offseason, will presumably serve in a backup role.
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Beamer said that this setup is not set in stone, though. Although he may not rotate who lines up in the pocket every play, but he still wants both Sellers and Ashford to continue proving why they are the best candidate to occupy that QB1 position.
What he also wants to see is that South Carolina’s quarterbacks continue to support each other throughout the season. Beamer said it is apparent in the Gamecocks’ quarterback room, even though there is competition between individual players, that camaraderie remains a key component of keeping the unit together.
“Dowell (Loggains) and Mike Shula are in there, and they’ve done a great job with all those quarterbacks,” Beamer said. “I sit in a lot of those meetings, and I see it in there – the way they handle their business, the camaraderie that room has.”
South Carolina’s quarterbacks demonstrated this camaraderie during one of the team’s practices last week, Beamer said. He described what transpired as “one of the cooler moments that I’ve seen this season.”
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“We did a red zone competition period last week, where it’s offense versus defense. The defense gets points for stops, holding them to a field goal; the offense gets points for field goals or touchdowns. And it came down to where it was super competitive. The next team to score, whether it be the offense scoring or the defense holding them to a field goal, was going to win it,” Beamer said.
“LaNorris threw a touchdown pass to win it. And the first offensive player you see come off the sideline to celebrate in the end zone is Robby Ashford. Now, we didn’t get a celebration penalty – the game was over and all that, as well. But you saw Robby.”
Beamer said the moment demonstrated how Ashford has emerged as a veteran presence on South Carolina’s offense in the short time he has been with the program. He added that it, and other moments like it, will elevate the quarterback room moving forward.
“I told him, ‘That was a pretty cool moment – the other quarterback throws the touchdown pass to win the period. And he is the first guy out there celebrating with teammates.’ He’s got to continue to do that and continue to compete and get better. He’s come so far, Robby has, since he got here. And (he) has a big future ahead of him as well,” Beamer said. “He makes our program better, and I’m excited for him.”
