South Carolina held its second spring practice of the Will Muschamp era on Thursday, and things could have gone better for the Gamecocks quarterbacks.
New offensive coordinator Kurt Roper is implementing a new offense, and there were some evident growing pains for his signal callers, according to the university’s practice recap.
“It’s always an interesting start,” said Coach Roper. “There’s so much to learn, not just schematically, but where we want them to go on the practice field, what drill names are and all those things. So it’s a good start, but there’s a lot of things to fix and correct and get better at for sure.”
Specifically, it appears as though Roper was not pleased with the turnovers he has seen from the quarterbacks through two workouts.
“I told the quarterbacks after practice the first thing we have to do to get better is take care of the football,” said Coach Roper. “We’re turning it over too much in the passing game. And we have to get more completions. That’s the first priority trying to move forward in the passing game.”
South Carolina beat writer Josh Kendall specifically pointed out Connor Mitch during Thursday’s practice:
Connor Mitch threw two interceptions during his 11 on 11 drive.
— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) March 17, 2016
The Gamecocks have chosen to rotate five different options into the position after releasing a depth chart that lists each of them as an “OR” option for the top spot.
QB: Perry Orth OR Brandon McIlwain OR Connor Mitch OR Lorenzo Nunez OR Michael Scarnecchia
Moving that many guys in and out could potentially be part of the problem as it pertains to getting into a rhythm.
But according to the school’s release, it is all part of the process for Roper to find his eventual starter.
“It’s not the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s what we have to do to understand who we have on the team,” noted Coach Roper. “This is the first two days we’ve actually physically seen them throw the football. Obviously there’s no timetable on making this decision (to cut down on the number of quarterbacks taking snaps). We want to do it as quickly as we can, but you have to have some information to make those decisions.
“We want to get as much as we can installed through spring, figure out who we’re going to be based on the talent that we have on the football team, then obviously you have to start preparing to win football games in the fall,” continued Coach Roper. “Right now, we think players, not plays.”
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
