SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

Having talent at the quarterback position is a blessing and a curse. It’s always good to have top-tier talent on the field and in meeting rooms but it comes at a cost with sometimes players not getting enough playing time and opting to transfer.

That situation reared its head this year with Clemson’s Kelly Bryant transferring after losing the starting job and, most recently, at Georgia with five-star Justin Fields announcing he’ll transfer after one season.

It’s a situation that could potentially come up at South Carolina next year with a senior starter, Jake Bentley, and four-star signee Ryan Hilinski coming in this January, but Will Muschamp isn’t worried about any hurt feelings.

“You earn everything you get in this program. If you earn the opportunity to play, you play. If you earn the opportunity to start, you start. We’ll make the decision based on what’s going to help our team win and I think the players in our organization understand that,” Muschamp said. “It’s not like receiver where you have three different guys playing it or defensive back where you have four or five guys, sometimes six at a time. There’s only one guy and that’s why you see that much of the time. I think you give everybody a fair opportunity to have a shot and play and go from there.”

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Hilinski was one of the marquee signings in the Gamecocks’ 2019 recruiting class so far, a four-star prospect and Elite 11 Finalist from California.

Bentley said he welcomes the competition against top-level competition like Hilinski and backup quarterbacks already on the roster in Dakereon Joyner and Jay Urich.

The junior, who moved into the top five of passing yards in a career this season, said he’s excited to teach the new crop of quarterback everything he can before leaving the program while competing against him.

“All the hype leaves once you get here. He understands that. I’m not trying to throw shade on anyone but that’s how it is. It’s work, and he understands that and that’s what he plans on doing,” Bentley said. “I’m excited to get him on campus and teach him all I can about ball to help him in his career.”

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Bentley and Hilinski have met multiple times already before the quarterback signed Wednesday with Bentley even hosting him on an official visit this year.

He joked that Hilinski took one of his shirts after the visit to keep and he still wants it back but said he knew right away there was something special about his game.

“I’ve watched his film. I haven’t seen him throw live yet,” Bentley said. ‘He’s a great kid. He’s going to come in and help us out down the road or whenever and come in and learn. He’s very eager to learn. That’s one thing; on his official visit he wanted to talk to me about plays and defenses. He’s a great kid and I’m excited to get him here.”

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Hilinski is a four-star commitment in the team’s 2019 class and was one of 18 players to official sign with the Gamecocks Wednesday to start the early signing period.

He was one of the first commitments in the class, announcing on April 4 he would ultimately enroll at South Carolina.

This was the first signee under new quarterbacks coach Dan Werner and the entire coaching staff is excited to get him on campus when he enrolls as a mid-year in January.

“He can really spin it. We had him in camp. Dan Werner did a fantastic job with Ryan,” Muschamp said. “We’re really excited about him coming on campus here in January. He’s a great football player and has a lot of the intangibles you’ve got to have at that position. We’re looking forward to getting him to campus.”