What the South Carolina Gamecocks offense might look like with Doty at the helm

Shane Beamer mentioned it earlier in the week and confirmed it Thursday night the second-year quarterback will start against Kentucky this weekend, giving a glimpse into the scheme Marcus Satterfield spent designing tailored to Doty’s strengths

The base scheme will largely stay the same with Doty in with a few extra wrinkles accentuating his skill set.

“I mean the same amount. It really won’t change that much. With Luke, he’s more of a mobile-type kid who can do some things Zeb can’t do,” Satterfield said. “Luke can do some certain things Zeb (Noland) can’t do from a running standpoint.”

Also see: Breaking down the keys to a South Carolina win

In nine games, Doty’s rushed 47 times for 106 yards, including rushing six times for 15 yards against Georgia with a couple sacks impacting his total rushing yardage.

The benefit Doty will get against the Wildcats is knowing going in he’s going to start, which gives him and Satterfield time in practice to rehearse the first few drives in practice and Satterfield scheme up plays to get a quarterback making his third-career start settled down.

“I mean you try and script some routine throws where he can get off and get some confidence. If you told me Saturday night he was playing period or had that many plays I would have looked at your funny,” Satterfield said.

“To go out there in that environment against that defense, we weren’t perfect executing, but he did some really good things for a guy that’s not played a lot at quarterback.”

Also see: Hoops visitors expected this weekend

Thrust into an unenviable situation last week with then-starter Zeb Noland going out one series into the game, Doty finished going 13-for-26 for 153 yards, a touchdown and a pick against Georgia in a 40-13 loss.

This will be Doty’s first start under the new staff after being named the starter coming out of spring and throughout all of the offseason and training camp before a foot sprain sidelined him for about a month.

Through all of it, though, he still took mental reps and main his role as a leader offensively and has picked back up where he left off as he gets more ingratiated into practice.

“Shoot, Luke’s been practicing. He’s been coming in and getting his reps. Luke Doty is Luke Doty,” Jakai Moore said. “You know what Luke Doty is coming in to do and we’re here to block for him.”

The Gamecocks’ offense has had its ups and downs with Noland starting, averaging 5.4 yards per play offensively, coming to a head with just 13 points on 4.9 yards per play against Georgia.

While the Gamecocks’ offense could look different against Kentucky (7 p.m., ESPN2), it’s still not a finished product with progress to make.

Also see: Massive list of football visitors this weekend

“We have a lot of really, really good playmakers we have to continue to get the ball to,” Noland said. “It’s not like basketball where you can flip it around five times and get five touches. The quarterback touches it every play and everyone’s at the mercy of them. We’re just working on getting the ball to everybody, cutting it loose and having fun.”

The Goings Law Firm will serve as the official sponsor of our 2021 Football Coverage. The attorneys at the Goings Law Firm are proud South Carolinians and avid Gamecock fans. The Goings Law Firm has earned a reputation as one of the preeminent litigation firms in South Carolina in the fields of personal injury, wrongful death, and workers compensation.

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