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South Carolina football: Power ranking every QB the Gamecocks will face in 2018
By Keith Farner
Published:
In order to rank the quarterbacks, it helps to know who will be playing quarterback.
Most of South Carolina’s opponents still are trying to figure out that answer.
There are only a few teams on the Gamecocks’ schedule that feel as fortunate at quarterback as South Carolina does in having Jake Bentley.
With preseason competitions in mind, here is a power ranking of all the quarterbacks South Carolina is set to face this season:
12. Nick Tiano, Chattanooga
The Mississippi State transfer had a mixed season last year for a 3-8 team as he missed the final six games because of injury, and otherwise had six touchdowns and six interceptions on 87-for-158 passing. He looks the part at 6-5 and 240 pounds. Against LSU last year in a 45-10 loss, he was 15-for-32 for 174 yards and 2 interceptions.
11. Kilton Anderson, Coastal Carolina
Coastal’s had a revolving door at quarterback the past two years with seven players seeing time at the position in 2016, and six last year. Anderson played in six games last year, and grabbed the starting role in preseason camp. The Fresno State transfer via the New Mexico Military Institute last season was 49-for-109 passes for 743 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
10. Alex Thomson, Marshall
The Wagner College transfer was a recruiting target of Jeremy Pruitt during his initial recruiting season at Tennessee, along with Baylor before he chose the Thundering Herd. Yahoo Sports has reported that Thomson is an NFL talent in the eyes of 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello and former NFL star Phil Simms. One road block for his production could be he didn’t arrive until the summer because he finished classes at Wagner, and he’s still recovering from a shoulder injury suffered last season.
9. Keller Chryst, Tennessee
This is one of several QB competitions for South Carolina opponents, and while this is a four-man battle, it appears Tennessee is choosing between Jarrett Guarantano and Chryst. Chryst, a Stanford transfer, started seven games for the Cardinal last season, and 13 the past two seasons, and is looking to be productive in his final season of eligibility. Chryst is the nephew of Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst. Last season, he completed 54.2 percent of his passes for 962 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. As a starting quarterback, he’s 11-2.
8. Terry Wilson, Kentucky
The Oregon transfer via Garden City Community College chose the Wildcats over offers from Florida, Nebraska and Texas. It seems as if Wilson and Gunnar Hoak will split time to start the season, however, the position could be settled by the Sept. 29 game, Week 5, against South Carolina. All indications are that Wilson has the lead in the race, and given his dual threat talent, if he can be at least dependable passing the ball, Wilson could lock down the job.
7. Feleipe Franks, Florida
Another position battle, Franks has the most experience of the three competing, which includes redshirt sophomore Kyle Trask and true freshman Emory Jones. Last season, Franks played in all 11 games for Florida, made eight starts and passed for 1,438 yards with nine touchdowns. Some of those numbers came against South Carolina last season when he was 10-for-25 with 174 passing yards and an interception. By completion percentage, it was his second-worst game of 2017.
6. Kelly Bryant, Clemson
Competing with uber prospect Trevor Lawrence for the starting job, Bryant is 12-2 as a starter, and has already faced most of the teams Clemson will play this season. Bryant’s completed 66.1 percent of his passes and has a 131.0 pass efficiency rating with 843 yards and 14 touchdowns on 227 carries. Against the Gamecocks last season, Bryant was 23-for-34 for 272 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also chipped in 10 rushes for 26 yards. Most believe, however, it’s only a matter of time before Lawrence takes over.
5. Nick Starkel, Texas A&M
Yet another competition, this time with Kellen Mond. Starkel started last year’s season opener at UCLA, but broke his ankle in the one-point loss to the Bruins. Starkel returned after missing eight games and started the final four games for the 7-6 Aggies. Still listed as “co-starters” on the depth chart, Starkel and Mond have been neck and neck all preseason. If only Jimbo Fisher could bottle Starkel’s bowl performance. Against Wake Forest, Starkel set A&M freshman records for passing yards (499), attempts (63), completions (42) and touchdowns (4). The 499 passing yards are the second most by an Aggie in program history.
4. Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt
The veteran has built quite a streak in three seasons as the Commodores’ quarterback. His consecutive starts streak is up to 28 games. He was among the top QBs in the SEC by total yards and yards per game. He put up more than 300 yards in three of his last five games, and finished with 26 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions for the season. Shurmur’s touchdown total established a new single-season team record, and broke Whit Taylor’s former record of 22 in 1982. Shurmur’s passing yardage (2,823) was the third highest single-season total in team history.
3. Jordan Ta’amu, Ole Miss
One of the bigger offensive surprises in the SEC last season, Ta’amu played in eight games, but started the final five games of the season. He passed for at least for 365 yards or more in his first three career starts and is the only Ole Miss QB to ever throw for at least 350 yards in back-to-back SEC games. This year, he’s among eight returning offensive starters and will target the top receiving unit in the league.
2. Jake Fromm, Georgia
Fromm turned in one of the best freshman seasons after he was thrust into the starting role following a knee injury to Jacob Eason. Fromm finished ranked ninth nationally in passing efficiency (160.1), and turned in the third-most passing yards in a single season (2,615) by a Georgia freshman. The only question for Fromm taking the next step as an elite quarterback is how much star freshman Justin Fields will be mixed in for playing time.
1. Drew Lock, Missouri
A consensus top-5 pick in NFL mock drafts for 2019, Lock made somewhat of a surprise when he elected to return to Missouri. A dark horse Heisman Trophy contender, which largely depends on the success Missouri has, Lock last season already set a boat load of school and SEC records as he notched 44 passing touchdowns, 3,964 yards and was 242-of-419 (57.7 percent) passing.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
