Brown, Gauthier discuss QB battle with Doty sidelined

Colten Gauthier delivered one of the more unsurprising quotes of training camp so far, and he did it with just one word.

Asked if he wanted to be the Gamecocks’ starter week one against Eastern Illinois, the freshman responded with, “Absolutely” without blinking or skipping a beat.

And, with Luke Doty’s status still up in the air for the season opener, the window for Gauthier—or Jason Brown or any other quarterback on the roster—to earn a starting spot is certainly there.

“We’re only through practice 10. We have until Sept. 3 to figure it out if it comes down to it. Nothing’s set until Coach Beamer comes up here and says this is our starting quarterback,” Gauthier said. “That’s how I would look at it from that standpoint.”

Also see: Insider notes from Tuesday's practice

Since Doty went down in Friday’s practice, the Gamecocks have practiced three times—a scrimmage Saturday and morning sessions Monday and Tuesday—with Brown taking first-team reps in the scrimmage and in the portion open to the media Tuesday morning.

Brown is the only scholarship quarterback on the roster with starting experience and knows that, but he also knows that experience doesn’t guarantee him anything if Doty isn’t able to go week one.

“I feel pretty confident just knowing the work I put in. I feel pretty confident back there, but that’s not my job right now. We’re still competing—me, Colten, Connor and now Zeb (Noland)—he’s a great quarterback as well,” Brown said.

“He’s older; he’s a veteran. We’re still competing and we have 18 or 19 days until the first game. We’re still competing for the next three weeks and they’re going to put the best guy out there that’s going to help us win games.”

Also see: Player notes from Tuesday's media availability

Noland started his career at Iowa State, throwing for 1,255 in nine games for the Cyclones before going to North Dakota State. In 2020 Noland completed 51 percent of his 100 attempts for 721 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions with a quarterback rating over 116.

He came to South Carolina this summer as a graduate assistant and has been thrust into the quarterback room to add depth and bodies to the competition.

But still, Brown and Gauthier are the reserves on scholarship with the most time in the offense to date and both still think they need to get better with the playbook as camp goes on and the opener gets closer.

“I feel like I have one of the best arms in the country from that standpoint,” Gauthier said. “None of that matters unless I go out there and know what I’m supposed to do and can read defenses and execute. I feel like I have the tools necessary to do it, it’s just chipping away at it every single day.”

Also see: What we learned coming out of Saturday's scrimmage

Brown echoed the same sentiment, mentioning he wants to continue feeling comfortable in Marcus Satterfield’s pro-style offense, a system he didn’t have experience with until arriving in Columbia.

The biggest thing for him was slimming down, dropping almost 20 pounds since the spring game. He’s already noticed some differences—he’s more mobile if a play breaks down—but now wants to perfect his game so his teammates can rely on him if Doty can’t play and he’s ultimately the starting quarterback.

“There’s not a lot of room for error. There are plays to be made and I want to make the play when the play is there to be made,” Brown said. “I don’t want to have any mistakes. I don’t want to be the reason if I am the week one guy we possibly lose a game based on my mistakes. I want to be the best I can be at my craft because I know the other 10 guys around me are going to bring their best.”

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