Usually, when a freshman comes on campus and is high-energy, it’s standard operating procedure for upperclassmen to be a little skeptical.

The typical response to an energetic freshman? “Just wait until it really starts,” Jabari Ellis said.

But the thing about Luke Doty, that lively freshman this fall, that spirit didn’t fade once the season started.

“Since he first stepped on campus he’s an energy guy,” Ellis said. “Since day one until now, he brings the energy. It’s contagious. Having energy is contagious. That helps the team out.”

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Doty, a four-star freshman quarterback who stepped on campus in January, impressed his teammates with his liveliness from the start - and it’s continued throughout the season.

Typically leadership spots are reserved for a lot of older players, but Doty has turned into one of the energetic leaders on the team.

Nick Muse even told the story of beating players by 10 yards in post-practice windsprints during preseason camp.

“He has the ability and leadership to turn this place around going forward. Everyone relies on him,” Muse said. “When you look over to your right when you’re running sprints in fall camp after early practice and you see him beating everybody by 10 yards, you look at him and say, ‘This kid wants to play and deserves a chance.’ Luckily he’s starting to get his chance and he’s making the most of it.”

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Before last week, Doty’s energy was just seen in practice. This week he gets the chance to start for the Gamecocks against Georgia.

Doty played against Missouri for embattled Collin Hill, passing for 130 yards and rushing for 59 yards, and gave the Gamecocks a “spark,” Mike Bobo said.

He was named the starter earlier in the week—although it wasn’t announced publicly—and already saw some results in Tuesday’s practice.

“I’ve always approached the game with that mindset to go out there and bring as much energy as I can,” Doty said. “Just go out there and bring energy to the practice field no matter what’s going on and bring energy to the game field Saturday. I think everyone responds well to that. It showed today. We had a really good practice. Everybody was real juiced up and ready to work.”

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The big question now is how the offense will look with Doty in the game, but Doty is comfortable with whatever Bobo is calling.

“I do feel comfortable in the system. I feel comfortable in my play-making abilities. I trust the guys around me to go make plays for me,” Doty said. “That’s in the pass game, that’s in the run game. I know I got guys around me I can count on and they can count on me.”