At the time of writing, on December 30, shortly after 7 p.m., there were 75 quarterbacks in the NCAA transfer portal who received two stars or higher when they were evaluated out of high school. One of those quarterbacks is Ryan Hilinski, who announced Wednesday afternoon that he will be graduating from the University of South Carolina.
While Hilinski is looking for a new place to play football, it leaves the Gamecocks with three backs who are expected to be in the rankings next year.
A cynic will look and say that one of the three backs is a sixth-year senior who needs three knee surgeries, and is in favor of a true freshman who has barely practiced on the position. Another one is the first-year student who barely practiced at the position and threw more interceptions (3) than pressure (2) in his 71 pass attempts. The third is an incoming first-year student moving from a small private school to the Southeastern Conference, which is not a recipe for immediate success.
Since the numbers are tight and the productivity of the college is low, it is could to make first year head coach Shane Beamer and offensive coordinator / quarterback coach Mike Bobo check out the NCAA Transfer Portal for another player. While we do not know for sure that the Gamecocks will be looking for another player, we can definitely look at some players that are currently available.
Here are a few in the NCAA transfer portal that might make sense for the Gamecocks. Of course, more players are announcing their intention to switch daily, so it’s not necessarily the only player South Carolina can choose from.
We’re going to make some assumptions here before we throw some names against the wall. The primary assumption is that the Gamecocks will be looking for a player who has some experience but also some success as the university level. It would not make much sense to bring in someone who is completely unknown.
Jarrett Guarantano of Tennessee – Anyone who has seen South Carolina play in Tennessee knows his profile. He has started four times against the Gamecocks and it seems like he has always played pretty well. In 41 professional games with Tennessee, Guarantano passed 494-of-808 (61.1% completion rate) for 6,174 yards, 38 touchdowns, 17 interceptions and five quick touchdowns. He has only played seven games this season and his numbers have dropped below 2019. He passed 103 of 166 (62% completion rate), 1112 yards, six touchdowns, four interceptions and four rushes. He would stay one year and maybe a Feleipe Franks type of season for the Gamecocks.
Chris Robison of Florida Atlantic Ocean – It may not be a player the Gamecocks want to touch, but he’s someone Beamer would be a little familiar with. He was in Oklahoma until April 2017 before being arrested for public intoxication and eventually released. He switched to FAU, but was suspended from all football activities due to off-field problems for part of 2018 and was sacked in 2019 due to a suspected sexual battery case, but was released in June after the investigation into the team brought back. finished. He was removed from the list of owls in August before the 2020 season, but the reason for his release never appeared in public. On the field, however, Robison became the everyday forerunner for FAU, and in 2019 he provided 3,701 and 28 touchdowns en route to the first-team Conference USA honor. He will remain for two years.
Hendon Hooker of Virginia Tech – There may not be a better option than Hooker, who started 15 games for Virginia Tech during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, with 2,894 yards and 22 touchdowns to seven distinctions. He adds 1,033 career years, averaging 4.2 yards per effort and 15 touchdowns on the ground. Hooker split time this season with Oregon transfer Braxton Burmeister. Hooker, who was unable to play for the first two weeks of the season due to a medical problem, performed again in Week 3 during Virginia Tech’s 56-45 loss to North Carolina. He then returns to the starting lineup and starts seven of the remaining eight games according to Virginia Tech’s schedule.
Patrick O’Brien of the State of Colorado – The bond is obvious as he was recruited by Colorado Mike Bobo. He would be a good trip if he transferred from Nebraska to CSU. At some point in 2019, he took over for Collin hill and finally the rest of the year begins. O’Brien finished that season with 2,803 yards and 13 touchdowns and a 61.8 completion percentage. He has played in all four of his team’s games this year, with three starting to play 591 yards and three shots.
Jack Coan of Wisconsin – A broken foot derailed Coan’s season this year and he has not played, although he has been active for the last two games. Coan led the Badgers to a 10-4 record a season ago, completing 69.6 percent of his passes for 2,277 yards and 18 touchdowns to five interceptions. When Coan was injured in the preseason, Graham Mertz, the former no. 65-player in the country in the 247Sports Composite, took over the post and never looked back.
Asher O’Hara of the State of Tennessee – After a year in junior college, O’Hara switched to MTSU where he has been a starter for the last two seasons. In his three years, he passed for 6,434 total yards and 49 touchdowns. After a season of more than 2,600 passing yards and completing 62 percent of his passes in 2019, he has 1,960 passing yards and 12 touchdowns with eight interceptions in 2020. He also led the Blue Raiders with 601 yards and seven touchdowns. interfaces rushed. He will remain for two years.
Jace Ruder of North Carolina – He does not have a wealth of experience, but has played well in North Carolina in the past and has always seen his seasons derailed by injuries. He suffered a broken leg in 2019, but Sam Howell was all the man for the Tar Heels. In 2018, as a true freshman, he hit 4-out-5 passes for 80-yards and ran for 21-yards on three runs, but then broke his collarbone in his against the Yellow Jackets during a quarterback run . But maybe he’s the right guy?
Jake Bentley of Utah – It seems pretty unlikely that this will happen, but he’s in there.