As the Gamecocks get into their second week of preseason training camp, the quarterback competition still remains just as wide open as it was to start.
Will Muschamp said Wednesday that position battle is still ongoing and the Gamecocks don’t necessarily have a timetable on when they’ll start giving one guy the bulk of first team snaps or when they’ll name a starter.
“Well, obviously there will be at some point,” Muschamp said. “Mike (Bobo) and I haven’t talked about that. With the situation we’re going into we have to be very fluid in what we’re doing. Everyone needs to be ready to go.”
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Usually roughly two or three weeks into a regular camp is when teams begin divvying up the majority of first team reps to players in preparations for games but this isn’t a normal year.
With Coronavirus potentially keeping guys from playing at times during the year, Muschamp understands the need to have multiple guys ready to go at a moment’s notice.
The quarterback battle right now is a two-man competition between incumbent Ryan Hilinski and grad transfer Collin Hill with the two splitting first team reps through camp so far.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said last week one player gets first-team reps one day and the other the next.
This weekend will be a good litmus test for both guys and the Gamecocks with South Carolina having their first real scrimmage situations of camp at Williams-Brice.
“Saturday will be good to get off the field and administer the offense and run the offense and we’ll go from there,” Muschamp said.
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Hilinski is the returning starter, having started 11 games last season (2,357 yards and 11 touchdowns) but is new to Bobo’s offense while Hill played under Bobo at Colorado State and has more experience with what Bobo is asking him to do.
“He’s a competitive, tough guy," Muschamp said. "He obviously has a little bit of a leg up from understanding the system, the terminology, what mike expects from the quarterback position. He’s a very competitive, tough guy."
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The competition will go on for a few more weeks as the Gamecocks continue camp and won’t begin preparations for Tennessee until the middle of September, but Muschamp says having those two quarterbacks has been beneficial to the offense.
“I’ve really enjoyed having Collin here and what he brings to our program, what he brings to our locker room, what he brings to the quarterback room," Muschamp said. "I think he’s been really good to Ryan. I think Ryan’s done a good job continuing to learn all the different things. Mike puts a lot on the quarterback and is pretty demanding of that position.”
