Satterfield excited for Gamecock offensive personnel

When Marcus Satterfield watches film of South Carolina from last season, he can’t help but be excited about what he’s seeing at the running back position.

What he sees is a back in Kevin Harris who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season with a five-star running back in MarShawn Lloyd coming off an ACL injury.

It’s there where Satterfield starts when he begins talking about his excitement for next year’s offense.

“I can tell you right now I’m really excited about our backfield with our halfbacks and running backs,” Satterfield said. “I think we can have a lot of productivity there with guys that played last year and guys coming off injuries. I think we have a chance to be dynamic.”

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Outside of Harris it was a struggle for the Gamecocks offensively, averaging 23.5 points per game—including scoring just 44 total points over the final three weeks—and averaging 6.3 yards per pass attempt and 5.3 yards per play.

There are question marks at receiver and finding replacements for Shi Smith and Sadarius Hutcherson but Satterfield is excited about some of the talent coming back.

The Gamecocks are expected to return four starters on the offensive line, including a handful of players who earned spot starts last season, and the team’s second-leading receiver in Nick Muse.

It’ll be up to Satterfield to find a replacement for Hutcherson at guard and find a way to make up the production of Shi Smith who had over 32 percent of the team’s receptions, 33 percent of reception yards and led the team with four receiving scores.

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“I like our guys up front. We have a chance to be top tier from an offensive line standpoint. We have some toughness, some athleticism and have potential to have some depth there. I’m really excited about that unit,” Satterfield said about the offensive line.

“We have really good tight ends coming back. If you’re going to throw the ball down the field, you have to utilize the middle of the field. Shane will tell you that coaching tight ends at Oklahoma the last few years. I think we have some guys with the physical traits and athletic ability to stretch the interior part of the field.”

One of Satterfield’s biggest tasks before the season starts is to find a starting quarterback and will decide between Luke Doty, freshman Colten Gauthier or any quarterback the team brings in with the 2021 class out of high school or through the transfer portal.

Doty is the only quarterback on the roster currently that’s taken a snap at the college level.

Doty played in the final three games, starting the last two games, completing 60.6 percent of his 71 passes for 405 yards (5.7 yards per attempt) with two touchdowns and three picks

Gauthier is the highest-rated member of the 2021 recruiting class, a four-star prospect and the No. 13 pro-style quarterback in the class.

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“That’s a room where guys are going to come in, compete and try to earn the starting job. I really like what I’ve heard so far about Luke with his leadership skills, competitive spirit, his ability to do a bunch of different things. I’m real excited about Colten,” Satterfield said.

“This is all new for him as well. They all give us a chance to do some things on offense. We’ll start from there. We have to have a starting point and that’s what we’ve got. We’re real excited about it.”