South Carolina young quarterbacks grow as fall camp begins

South Carolina entered the 2025 offseason already set at the starting quarterback position with star quarterback LaNorris Sellers. During preseason media day, Shane Beamer announced that as of the start of fall camp, the Gamecocks’ most tenured quarterback, Luke Doty, is his backup.

The news left newcomers Air Noland and Cutter Woods to fill the remaining slots in the room or to rise above in fall camp.

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The first step in the development of South Carolina’s newest quarterbacks started in the weight room, Beamer said.

“You’re talking about a guy in Air who, coming in, he’ll be the first to tell you, probably needed to change his body in a lot of ways, and he’s worked hard to do that,” Beamer said. “Cutter, coming from high school, they have a great program at Westside, but any freshman coming in wants to get bigger and stronger, and he’s really worked hard to do that.”

Doty, as South Carolina’s elder quarterback, sets the standard of leadership in the Gamecock quarterback room.

“The position that I’m in and the position that we are in as quarterbacks, there’s only one guy on the field,” Doty told GamecockCentral. “Being able to be a veteran in that room and an older guy in that room, I feel like it’s my role to help everybody in there prepare like they’re the starter.”

Doty also instills his mindset on preparation into the quarterback room.

“I’m big on preparation, and each practice is a chance to showcase the preparation you’ve put in,” Doty said. “The film that you’ve watched, how much you’ve studied, everything is basically a job interview.”

That leadership carries on to the star in Sellers, who passes what he learned from Doty onto the next generation.

“Pretty much anything he tells me I know helped me, so I can just refer it back to them,” Sellers told GamecockCentral. “It’s just kind of like, I’ve given them the vision because I played last year. Anything they’ve seen in practice, I might have seen in a game before, (and) I can just give them an example.”

Beamer echoed the strength of Sellers’ leadership in his time with the media on Thursday.

“LaNorris sets a great example with his work ethic and his mindset and just how he does things,” Beamer said. “And then those guys have come right in and kind of followed his lead, so to speak. They’ve improved. They’ve gotten better, obviously, changing their bodies and getting stronger.”

Woods joined South Carolina’s program after graduating from Westside High School. The Palmetto State native became a finalist for South Carolina’s Mr. Football in his senior season. Ultimately, he fell short to incoming North Carolina State freshman Will Wilson. However, Woods won the MaxPreps South Carolina Football Player of the Year for the second straight year in 2024.

The young freshman is excited for his first fall camp at South Carolina.

“I’m excited to learn a lot,” Woods told GamecockCentral. “And also, you know, (gain) experience and see where it goes.”

The area Woods said he wants to see the most growth before South Carolina kicks off in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Aug. 31 is in building his mental skills.

“Diving deeper into the playbook and just quicker decisions on the field,” Woods said.

Noland transferred to South Carolina from Ohio State. A former four-star prospect, Noland redshirted his true freshman season with the Buckeyes.

Noland told GamecockCentral in March that he embraces the competition.

“It pushes you each and every day. It doesn’t let you be lackadaisical … I feel like competition also brings the best out of you,” Noland said. “With a quarterback like LaNorris Sellers, he’s a guy I can push and hopefully compete with and have fun with that.”

Noland provides a new perspective in the quarterback room, spending 2024 under Chip Kelly.

“I’d say my accuracy first,” he said of the skills he provides. “My sneaky athleticism, and just my will to go out there and win.”

Overall, it’s both players’ professionalism that stands out the most, Beamer said.

“To both be young, the professionalism and just pro mentality that both of them have had,” Beamer said. “Not just this summer, but since they got here in January.”

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