Whatever amount of hot seat talk surrounding coach Will Muschamp at South Carolina may force the often conservative coach offensively to step out of his comfort zone. Combined with the injury to freshman RB MarShawn Lloyd, the Gamecocks are at a crossroads in how to generate offensive production.

Without converting a former quarterback or two, they’d really be in dire straits. Dakereon Joyner has already made the switch, and there’s increasing talk about freshman QB Luke Doty following in his footsteps.

This is the third player South Carolina recruited a quarterback who has moved to receiver at least part-time. Jay Urich was the first quarterback the Muschamp regime recruited after a full recruiting cycle. Then Joyner, a year later, moved to receiver full-time since 2019.

Out of high school, Doty was the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2020 and the No. 2 overall recruit from the state of South Carolina, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. But in the spring, the coaches introduced an idea to have Doty play a different position. Muschamp told reporters Doty had the same attitude as Joyner: selfless, Muschamp said.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo revealed his vision for Doty if approved by Muschamp in a recent meeting with reporters.

“If he’s one of our best players, I hope coach lets me play him (at wide receiver) 30, 35 snaps per game. That’s something Luke wants to do. He’s involved in special teams; he had to leave a meeting early today to go to special teams. He wants to play, he’s a competitor and those are the guys you want on your football team.”

For perspective, when asked about his concern so far in camp, Muschamp recently referred to the wide receiver group first, and said they need more guys to step up.

South Carolina is a middle-of-the-pack program at wide receiver in the SEC. Shi Smith is an experienced veteran, and Xavier Legette has shown flashes of potential, while OrTre Smith is trying to see the field consistently after prolonged injury absences. And newcomer Jalen Brooks has impressed early, his waiver is not yet approved to play immediately. They needed more at that position. Insert Doty.

That is why Bobo is open to a no-huddle, 4-receiver look that would include Joyner and Doty as slot receivers.

“As far as Luke is concerned, we never had any discussion about redshirting. He was going to play,” Muschamp added. “Mike has been extremely pleased with his progression at the quarterback position — as well as at the receiver position.”

Muschamp smirked and said that he appreciated the media reporting that Doty could be in a “Wildcock” formation in a direct snap setting because he can thrown the ball well.

“Luke Doty is mature beyond his years,” Muschamp said. “He’s still a QB. But he’s one of the best athletes on the team. Runs a 4.4 40. We try to stay away from recruiting a one-position player.”

Keep in mind that Bobo’s last 3 offenses at Colorado State were all in the top 20 nationally in passing offense, and Georgia’s passing offense in 2013 was ranked 15th nationally.

Muschamp mentioned that the scheme Bobo is using now is a mixture of what he did at Georgia and Colorado State. But he still uses plenty of “eye candy” in the form of motions and shifts to gain mismatches on the defense.

Doty has impressed teammates, from QB Ryan Hilinski in the spring, to CB Cam Smith recently, who said Doty could play any position on the field.

“Luke’s an amazing athlete, an amazing competitor,” Hilinski said. “He’s a fun guy to be around, which is super cool. This whole quarterback room, we’re all gelling together, cracking jokes left and right.”