South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Luke Doty battled through a lingering foot injury during the 2021 season, but he could be healthy enough to be at full speed for spring practice. On Wednesday, head coach Shane Beamer told reporters including Augusta Stone of The State Newspaper he is optimistic Doty will be ready to go by March 15, the first day of spring ball.
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Doty was expected to be South Carolina’s starting quarterback last season but was never fully healthy. The foot injury occurred during fall camp, and it led to graduate assistant Zeb Noland starting the first three games at quarterback. Doty missed the first two games of the season but started four contests before reaggravating the injury and undergoing season-ending surgery.
Doty played in five games during the 2021 season and completed 60.1% of his passes for 975 yards with 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. It’s a shame Doty wasn’t healthy enough to show off his abilities with a golden opportunity as a starting quarterback in the SEC especially with the arrival of Spencer Rattler, who transferred in from the Oklahoma Sooners.
Rattler was benched midseason for Caleb Williams at Oklahoma last season and given the fact Doty didn’t have much of a chance in 2021, it seems likely there will be a competition for the starting quarterback spot this offseason. South Carolina is continuing to load up the quarterback room as the Gamecocks signed class of 2022 QBs Tanner Bailey and Braden Davis - both of which are rated as high as 4-star prospects by the major recruiting sites.
Jason Brown started the final four games for the Gamecocks but transferred to play for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and Noland ran out of eligibility.
With the increase in quarterback talent, fans have to be excited about the direction of the program heading into Year 2 with Beamer as the head coach. Despite all the QB injuries in 2021, the Gamecocks finished 7-6 with a Duke’s Mayo Bowl win after consecutive seasons of missing a bowl game.
Luke Doty was rated as a 4-star prospect by the major recruiting sites from the 2020 class out of Myrtle Beach High School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
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