Now that spring practice has opened for South Carolina, new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is getting to know his quarterbacks.

He’s watched film of the 2019 offense, and now, he takes over the reins of the squad hoping to make big improvements. That starts with returning starter Ryan Hilinski, and Bobo explained that he’s been pleased with him so far.

Bobo was asked the area where Hilinski has made the biggest strides since last season.

“I would say it’s his footwork,” Bobo said Thursday after practice about his quarterbacks’ biggest improvement. “He has done a really nice job of being on balance in the pocket, trusting his protection, and I think that comes with understanding his protection and being able to sit in that pocket and be calm. He’s been very very accurate up to this point today.

“I would say his footwork and his accuracy and I’ve been real impressed with him in the meeting room; how sharp he is, how smart he is and how he comes in prepared. … He has the arm talent. He is athletic enough. I wouldn’t call him a dual-threat quarterback, but he’s athletic enough to move around in the pocket and make some plays.”

In addition to Hilinski, South Carolina welcomed 4-star touted quarterback Luke Doty for spring practice. So far, Bobo has been impressed with the freshman signal caller.

“I’ve been really pleased with Luke,” Bobo said Thursday. “Him and MarShawn (Lloyd) probably fall in the same category of being very conscientious, want to learn, want to put themselves in a position to compete. Luke has been accurate. I think two days ago he was 11-of-11 in practice, which was awesome. He hit every target. He made some nice throws today and completed the ball on third down. He has pulled the ball down a couple times when everyone has been covered and had explosive runs.

“I think his willingness to learn and master the offense is going to give him a chance to be really, really good. He has a skillset that the other guys don’t have. Now Jay (Urich) has a skillset to be able to run around, too, but Luke has the skillset to be able to run and make plays with his legs. He doesn’t have probably the arm strength that Ryan has, but he’s been an accurate passer.”

You can watch Bobo’s full press conference here.