New South Carolina coach Will Muschamp has a long way to go before the Gamecocks roster is ready to contend again in the SEC East, and two months of recruiting isn’t going to fix everything.

But securing four-star QB Brandon McIlwain, a long-standing commitment, would be a tremendous start. Muschamp and his staff visited McIlwain at his Newton, Pa., home last night.

Penn State coach James Franklin also is chasing the 6-foot, 200-pound dual-threat player hard, especially now that he can recruit against Muschamp.

Right or wrong, the “quarterback killer” narrative surrounding Coach Boom is as strong as ever, and opposing coaches surely will point out Jeff Driskel’s fantastic senior year at Louisiana Tech after he transferred from Florida.

Convincing McElwain to buy into offensive coordinator Kurt Roper and the fact that Muschamp won’t bring his anemic Florida offense with him to Columbia, S.C., could be a gateway to inroads with other offensive recruits.

According to The State newspaper, McElwain gave an extensive review of his dinner with Muschamp:

“I asked them where they see the program going and what their plans are for the program, where they see me fitting into the offensive scheme and things like that. I was really happy with the answers. They want to run a spread, hurry-up offense and run as many plays as they can to get as many chances to score.

“They love the way I play and the way that I can move and throw the ball to begin with, because accuracy is the most important thing for a quarterback, and the way I can move and use my feet to extend plays is exactly what they are looking for. Also, they were saying how they were really excited for the future of the program. They have a lot of things they can build on and they see a foundation there that they are excited to continue to build on that in the next few years.”