Marcus Satterfield talks freshman quarterbacks
Heading into the season, a lot has been made about South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler and rightfully so.
The Gamecocks’ quarterback is a former five-star prospect and has averaged 8.9 yards per attempt over his career with 40 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.
But, he’s just the tip of the iceberg in what is a rejuvenated quarterback room.
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“That room has completely changed. It’s still very unproven and very young in a lot of ways. But Luke (Doty) was the old guy in that room last year as far as experience at this level. He was a freshman that started three games,” Shane Beamer said.
“To have some guys who are a year older now and bring in Spencer, who’s won a lot of football games and played a lot of football, certainly is a different dynamic than what it was last year.”
Rattler entered a group with returners like Luke Doty and Colten Gauthier but the Gamecocks prioritized young quarterbacks in the 2022 class.
South Carolina brought in two high school quarterbacks in Braden Davis and Tanner Bailey.
Davis was the initial commitment in the class; a three-star prospect and No. 32 quarterback in 2022. The Gamecocks’ staff got a chance to evaluate him for months with him coming in for spring practice.
“Both athletic but both have different skill sets. Braden is going to end up being a 6-foot-4, 200-pound kid that’s super athletic,” offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Marcus Satterfield said. “He can do things and extend plays and create off schedule plays.”
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Bailey was a later addition to the group, originally committing to Oregon but flipping to South Carolina in December.
On3’s consensus ratings have South Carolina’s quarterback as the No. 21 quarterback in the class and a four-star prospect.
He wasn’t in for spring but has shown ability in some of the summer workouts Satterfield’s seen.
“I think Tanner is a guy who’s going to be more of a pocket guy but he’s athletic enough to hurt you. We can still run some zone read game. He’s a very accurate passer and a very skilled passer,” Satterfield said.
“He’s got a nice leadership quality about him. You can get on tanner as hard as you want. In a good way, he doesn’t quite laugh it off, but it doesn’t affect him. He just puts his head down and goes right back to work.”
If healthy, Rattler should be the starter for all 12 games next season. But the Gamecocks are certainly high on the future of that position.
“Credit Satt and our offensive coaches with the way they were able to recruit and to be able to bring in a guy like a Spencer Rattler and add him to a room already with Luke Doty and Colten and Jake Helfich,” Beamer said. “Then to go out and sign two fantastic quarterbacks from the high school ranks in Braden Davis and Tanner Bailey.
