It's been quite an eventful week for South Carolina football.

The Gamecocks started their preseason camp Tuesday and already had a big injury, a few freshmen stand out and position battles start to take root.

It can be hard to keep track of all of it, but what were some of the biggest takeaways from the first three practices? We delve into it.

Still a toss up at quarterback

If there was one big takeaway from Thursday's meeting with the offensive players and Mike Bobo is the quarterback competition is still too close to call a few days into camp. It makes sense since they haven't even put pads on yet, but the reports from graduate transfer Collin Hill have been great.

Nick Muse called him a "NFL arm already" and said he knows the playbook as good, if not better than Bobo. Right now the two likeliest options are Ryan Hilinski and Hill, who have split the majority of first-team reps in practice this week.

There's still a lot time to go until the start of the season but it looks like the competition will draw out for at least the next few weeks before game plan installation for Tennessee starts.

Brooks impressing early

It's still unclear if he's going to play this season, but transfer Jalen Brook is having a stellar start to his South Carolina career.

Brooks, who transferred in this offseason, has practiced twice and is already garnering some praise from his teammates. Shi Smith, Jaycee Horn and Bobo have all said Brooks stepped on the field and immediately started making plays.

He still needs to get his waiver for immediate eligibility approved, which Will Muschamp said he's optimistic for, and if he does there's a strong chance he'll play his way onto the field in 2020.

Young guys are going to play

Judging based of what Mike Bobo and Travaris Robinson said Thursday, it looks like a few young guys are chiseling out roles early on in practice.

Bobo said Rico Powers is standing out at the receiver position, even taking a few first-team reps with Xavier Legette battling an ankle injury. Robinson talked about cornerback Cam Smith is working himself into playing time and Tonka Hemingway has been "outstanding" so far.

They seem to have a few guys who can step up and play early and it wouldn't be shocking to see a lot of those players getting snaps against the Vols.

Gamecocks need to find answers at running back

Thursday was devastating for South Carolina and MarShawn Lloyd with the news breaking the freshman running back needs surgery on a torn ACL, ending his season before it began.

His injury is obviously heartbreaking for Lloyd, who was going to be a big part of the team's plan offensively, but it's tough for South Carolina who now needs to figure out a plan to replace what could have been their starting running back. They have options—Deshaun Fenwick has looked good, Mike Bobo said, and both newcomers Rashad Amos and ZaQuandre White have flashed as well—and time with the opener still over a month away.

Defense has a lot of moving parts

With a few guys banged up, the Gamecocks are testing guys out at a few different spots through the start of practice. Damani Staley is playing some middle linebacker with Ernest Jones still recovering from an appendectomy and a few other guys are bouncing around as well. J.J. Enagbare is playing some end and BUCK, Brad Johnson is handling some outside linebacker duties and almost every defensive back is repping at different spots in the secondary.

The Gamecocks have a potentially really good defense this season and looks like they'll have a lot of guys who can play multiple positions as well.

Complete Coverage of Stockton's commitment: Gunner Stockton commits to South Carolina | Coach Jaybo Shaw on Stockton | Inside the commitment - How did Gamecocks land Stockton? | VIDEO: Chris Clark and Wes Mitchell break down the Stockton pledge | Some top prospects who have taken notice | Rivals Analyst Chad Simmons on Stockton as a player