Braden Davis growing more comfortable heading into second year
One of the deepest areas of South Carolina’s roster is at quarterback and somewhere Braden Davis fits into the puzzle.
The position group is led by Spencer Rattler and Luke Doty, experienced veterans who topped the depth chart last season. In recent years, the Gamecocks have added youth to the unit through Tanner Bailey, LaNorris Sellers and Colten Gauthier.
Another young South Carolina quarterback, Davis, is hoping to make an impact in year two after becoming more comfortable in the offseason.
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“We do a lot of the same things we’re doing last year, so it’s been good getting the experience of just going through it all the year,” Davis said. “This time around, coming through in the spring, I just feel a lot more comfortable than I was last year.”
Davis, a redshirt freshman, joined the Gamecocks last season as a 3-star recruit from Middletown, Delaware. D
uring his final high school season, he led Middletown High School to the state championship and was selected for the Under Armour All-America Game.
He finished high school as the No. 2 player in Delaware and No. 32 quarterback nationwide in the class of 2022, according to On3.
Davis did not see any game action for South Carolina last season and held onto that year of eligibility. Even with coaching changes on offense, Davis said he is more familiar with the demands of the college football season this time around.
Davis also said that surrounding himself with other South Carolina quarterbacks has helped him become used to their competitive nature.
“Everything we do – throwing at buckets, whatever it is – we’re always competing,” he said. “It’s great to have that competition. Somebody’s always right here right behind you trying to become the guy, so it’s a great room.”
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Davis focused this offseason on continuing to take steps forward–including improving accuracy–while getting stronger in the weight room.
He’s taken major strides there, topping out on the Catapult system running over 22 miles per hour.
“I hit 22.5 I believe in the offseason, Davis said. “Squat went up like 100 pounds. Bench went up 80 or so.”
He added that increasing his knowledge of the game was also an important area of improvement.
“(I was) staying in and around the building, studying plays, watching film,” he said, “just seeing the nuances and everything like that.”
Davis said he was excited for this weekend’s spring game, the first chance he has to demonstrate new skills before the 2023 regular season.
“Just an opportunity to show everybody what I’ve been doing, what I’ve been working on this whole offseason,” Davis said. “The improvement I made, I can’t wait to showcase that Saturday.”
