Momentum from three consecutive 11-win seasons, culminating with a Top 5 finish in 2013, has all but evaporated. But there’s still reason for hope at South Carolina heading into what many think could be Steve Spurrier’s final season with the Gamecocks.

The Head Ball Coach, even after what could be his first losing season ever in the SEC, isn’t going anywhere. That’s thanks to a prep quarterback from Pennsylvania who has ties to the university as a legacy commit.

Making assumptions eight months out from National Signing Day sets a terrible precedent, but I’m confident in calling four-star quarterback Brandon McIlwain the gem — and potential program-changer — in South Carolina’s 2016 signing class.

Not since Stephen Garcia in 2007 have the Gamecocks welcomed a more touted passer to Columbia, a potential true freshman starter if things go south at the position this fall.

And it doesn’t sound like there’s any chance the recently-crowned Elite 11 Semifinals MVP, who committed to South Carolina on New Year’s Eve before he became a household name, changes his mind and flips before February.

Incoming quarterbacks and potential impact players excite coaching staffs and fan bases. Do you really think Spurrier would retire after a down year knowing the possible second coming of Connor Shaw is less than a month away from arriving on campus?

Quarterback play put the Gamecocks on the precipice of greatness during the single-most significant stretch in the program’s 123-year history.

Spurrier’s admittedly detrimental “two to three years” comment pertaining to his future came before McIlwain’s commitment, one that re-energized his mindset and provided a glimmer of anticipation that maybe the Gamecocks can get this thing turned around in a hurry. (We’re assuming here since coaches can’t talk specifics until players have signed.)

The Head Ball Coach’s ego is too massive to retire after a second consecutive lackluster effort this fall. An offensive genius who has always taken pride in his quarterbacks needs to know — perhaps, be told — it’s the end before he decides to quit.

It’s the primary reason he was often so chipper during Shaw’s illustrious tenure and quickly came to fifth-year senior Dylan Thompson’s defense during last year’s disappointing defensive tailspin.

South Carolina’s fall from the Top 25 wasn’t all Spurrier’s fault and he made that clear.

McIlwain just might be the player who adds pep to Spurrier’s step and brings out the HBC we all know and love, a sideline personality who isn’t afraid to jab opponents in the post-game and get cute when his team’s up big.

Spurrier is only 28 SEC victories from tying the legendary Bear Bryant for most all-time. Grab a couple of those this season and average six conference wins per season during McIlwain’s career and the HBC would sit atop the SEC throne — with possibly the program’s first league title to boot.

When McIlwain signs with the Gamecocks in February, South Carolina’s coaching staff eagerly will await the opportunity to ‘coach him up’ in preparation for the 2016 campaign. He’ll enter a fierce battle with Connor Mitch (who will be a fourth-year junior next fall) and rising sophomore Lorenzo Nunez for the gig and from a skills standpoint, would have an edge on both.

While it’s unfair to write off this year’s Gamecocks before they’ve played a single game, Spurrier himself would tell you in a private setting this team isn’t SEC championship level.

At least not yet.

247Sports national analyst Barton Simmons recently compared McIlwain to Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback who starred as a dual-threat playmaker at N.C. State and Wisconsin. A pocket passer by nature, Wilson used his legs to escape pressure and move the chains, much like Shaw handled the Gamecocks’ high-powered offense from 2011-13.

McIlwain has similar potential and could put the HBC’s retirement rumors to bed with a rocket-fast start for the Gamecocks.