Giving the latest on South Carolina's now-open quarterback position during his Tuesday press conference, head coach Will Muschamp said that the competition to start at the position at Ole Miss could go all the way to warmups prior to Saturday's game.
After the Gamecocks failed to score a touchdown in this past weekend's 48-3 loss to Texas A&M, Muschamp said on Sunday that the position is wide open with incumbent Collin Hill, last year's starter Ryan Hilinski, and freshman Luke Doty all in the mix.
"Both quarterbacks, Collyn and Ryan, both got equal reps," Muschamp said Tuesday. "We have a package for Luke, but with Collyn and Ryan being so similar skillset-wise. Both guys did a good job today. We do not have a timetable on when we will make that decision. It could be up to pregame warmup, to see who is spinning it best in pregame."
That split of reps isn't really that different from the way South Carolina has structured its practices previously, with the only difference now being that the job is open.
Hill has started all six games for South Carolina in a 2-4 start, completing 104 of 177 passes for 1,142 yards and five touchdowns with five interceptions.
Muschamp was quick to point out that the offensive issues haven't all been on the quarterback position, and the rest of the offense needs to play better around that position.
But he's looking for a spark from a position that can positively affect the rest of the team after an offense that played fairly well for most of the year, struggled to do much of anything against the Aggies.
"We try to create a competitive atmosphere all the time," Muschamp said. "I know Mike (Bobo) does a great job of pushing that position and then having those guys be game ready in all situations. Luke, maybe for the last month and a half, six weeks, has been getting the lion's share of (his) reps at quarterback in his package and the things that we do trying to bring that along.
"And Ryan and Collin have been getting the reps in what you would say is our mainstay offense in what we do. It's been a very competitive room on and off the field, in my opinion. Both guys are great for each other. Both guys interact very well together, both guys share information very well together, both guys want South Carolina to be successful and win, and they both want to be the starting quarterback and only one guy can play, but both guys are talented and we can win with both."
Muschamp hopes that whoever starts will provide the spark the Gamecocks need as they travel to Ole Miss as 10-point underdogs against first-year coach Lane Kiffin and the Rebels.
Hilinski could get his first shot at starting this season. As a freshman last year, he started the final 11 games of the season and completed 236-of-406 passes (58.1 pct.) for 2,357 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions.
Muschamp detailed all of the factors that would go into this week's decision.
"Decision making at the line of scrimmage in the run game, decision making at the line of scrimmage in protections, decision making at the line of scrimmage of re-directing the protection and changing the play whatever the gameplan presents itself," Muschamp said. "Completion percentage, being accurate with the football. We'll have a third-down period tomorrow which will be critical for both guys. We'll have a one-minute period tomorrow or Thursday, that will be critical for them. How they manage all of the things I talked about earlier in scout teams periods, crossover periods, and good-on-good periods. Everything is graded."
The Gamecocks and Rebels will square off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Oxford on the SEC Network.
