SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

South Carolina made arguably the big decision of fall camp this week, dubbing Ryan Hilinski the backup quarterback behind Jake Bentley, and Thursday Will Muschamp gave his first public thoughts on it.

“Ryan’s done a really good job in camp," he said on his weekly call-in show. "It’s a very difficult decision because both guys are very deserving. I think we can win with both guys in my opinion, but you have to narrow down reps. We went with Ryan based on our evaluation."

With Hilinski moving to the official No. 2 spot, that leaves Dakereon Joyner's role a little up in the air right now.

Joyner, who lost out to Hilinski in the backup battle, now has to decide if he wants to stay as the team's No. 3 quarterback, transfer or change positions.

While nothing has officially been decided yet, it looks like Joyner is here to stay for the time being and is still taking reps at quarterback, although Muschamp left the door open for him to do other things.

He also commended the redshirt freshman and former Mr. Football for how he handled the entire situation.

Offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon did reiterate Tuesday after the decision that Hilinski is the backup entering the season and things could obviously still change.

“Dakereon is still playing quarterback at South Carolina but also wants to help us in other ways on the football team. He handled this thing in a first-class manner, which is all he does as a human being,” Muschamp said. “I’m very appreciative in him trusting us as a staff moving forward. We’re excited about the things he’s going to do for South Carolina football.”

Hilinski moves now to the No. 2 behind Bentley, who's entering his senior season at South Carolina with a puncher's chance at breaking almost every passing record.

He comes into the year needing to brush up on a few things and Muschamp likes what he's seen from his senior before the season starts next week.

“I think Jake’s had a really good training camp. The emphasis has been taking care of the football and he’s done that. He’s been a very productive player for us. I’m really, really excited about his senior year and seeing him play,” “I think we have some good people around him that are going to help him.”

The Gamecocks started prep for UNC Thursday and will practice Friday, Saturday and Sunday before an off day Monday and resuming typical game-week activities on Tuesday.