SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOKS FOOTBALL
It didn’t take long when Luke Doty arrived on campus for a football camp for the Gamecock coaching staff to see what they had in what would turn into their 2020 quarterback.
And, even after Doty committed and still continued to come around the program for 7-on-7 camps and visits, it only confirmed what they saw early in the recruitment process.
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“The thing that really jumps out about Luke when he’s on campus and you watch him interact with his team in the 7-on-7s when Mickey (Wilson) brings his guys to our 7-on-7 camp, his leadership ability to positively affect other people really is contagious,” Will Muschamp said. “That’s something that jumps out at you. He’s a winner."
Also see: Insider notes on how the South Carolina running back class came together
Doty, who is set to enroll in January as an early-enrollee, picked up a Gamecock offer after his sophomore season and committed soon after, right before his junior season.
He impressed the coaching staff with his film but also the numbers he put up in camp and continued to develop as he got closer to his enrollment at South Carolina.
After he committed to South Carolina, Doty threw for over 3,000 yards and rushed for another 700 with 43 total touchdowns as a junior as part of a state championship season.
As a senior he completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,876 yards and 25 touchdowns. He’s rated as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the country, also rushing for 408 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games this season.
Doty and Myrtle Beach played but didn’t win the state title this year after Doty hurt his hand early in the playoffs.
“He was on his way to another state championship and unfortunately hurt his hand. He’ll be fully recovered when he steps on campus in January,” Muschamp said. “He’s a 36-vertical leaper and over a 10 foot broad (jumper) he’s in the low-4.5s and can really spin it.”
Also see: Which prospects are we tracking after the early signing period?
As he got deeper into his high school career and took over as the team’s starting quarterback the last two seasons, Doty became a four-star prospect and an Elite 11 quarterback.
Doty is considered the No. 2 prospect in the state, behind fellow Gamecock commit Jordan Burch with the Gamecocks landing commitments from seven of the 10 best players in the state.
“We had him in camp, we saw his work ethic and his leadership ability. We didn’t’ offer him until he started games as a sophomore year,” Muschamp said of Doty. “The recruiting process continued to move on and always with quarterbacks, it’s going to be faster. That’s just the nature of where we are. We continued to see him progress. He had a fantastic junior season.”
Also see: Huntley with 'no doubt' about South Carolina
The Gamecocks also signed O’Donnell Fortune, Tyshawn Wannamaker, Trai Jones and Tonka Hemingway from South Carolina with commitments from Burch and Alex Huntley, both of which haven’t signed NLIs yet.
Every player from South Carolina who signed, except for Hemingway will be an early enrollee. Dominick Hill, Mohamed Kaba, Vershon Lee, Jazston Turnetine, Michael Wyman and MarShawn Lloyd will also enroll early.
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