COLUMBIA — There is no more Spencer Rattler. So?
The South Carolina football quarterback is headed to the NFL, and his departure creates open competition for a potential 2024 starter. Coach Shane Beamer was in attendance for the Garnet & Black's spring game Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium (7 p.m., SEC Network+). If Tuesday clears out, all candidates will be represented.
Rattler spent three seasons at Oklahoma before spending two years at South Carolina. With the Shamcocks, Rattler had 6,212 yards and 37 touchdowns, rushing for 150 yards and seven touchdowns. He ranks fifth all-time in passing yards and first in Gamecocks history in career completion percentage (.675).
“Obviously we've been evaluating everything every day since we started practicing in March,” Beamer said. “As far as the name and where we are, we know that no matter what we do, our players know that competition is a core value, so we've been at every position throughout the summer. I’m going to keep competing.”
There are different philosophies and approaches to the quarterback battle, and Beamer said he's been on a coaching staff and everyone has approached the battle differently. One approach is to fight until August and name a quarterback closer to the first game, giving maximum time to the competition. Another thing he does is name a starter so the rest of the team can rally around him early in preparation for the season opener.
“(Quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains) hasn't talked about our time frame yet and we'd like to do something, but like any other position, even if the announcement comes after spring practice. “The position is going to have to continue to prove itself, compete for it,” Beamer said.
With that in mind, here is a breakdown of the starting quarterback candidates for the 2024 season who will participate in the spring game.
Lanoris Sellers played against Furman at Vanderbilt.
Lanoris-Sellers is a redshirt freshman who appeared in three games last season. Sellers, who is 6-foot-3 and weighs 240 pounds, is from Florence, South Carolina. In his debut with Furman, Sellers went a perfect 4-for-4, throwing for 86 yards and two touchdowns, one of which went for 50 yards. He had a 36-yard touchdown against Vanderbilt and nine rushing yards against Kentucky.
Sellers committed to Syracuse after high school, but reversed his decision to attend South Carolina. According to the 247Sports Composite, Sellers completed 150 of 258 passes for 2,949 yards, 45 touchdowns, and just two interceptions during his high school career.
Robbie Ashford transferred from Auburn
In January, the Gamecocks acquired Robbie Ashford from Auburn with two years of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound Ashford began his collegiate career at Oregon State, where he played both football and basketball. He did not get any playing time with the football team, but appeared in 20 games with the baseball team in 2021 before transferring. He spent his final two seasons at Auburn.
In his first year with the Tigers, he threw for 1,613 yards and seven touchdowns, gaining 710 yards including seven touchdowns, and started nine of 12 games in 2022. He completed 14 of 27 passes for 145 yards as a backup last season. , he threw two touchdowns and two interceptions. He had 217 yards rushing and five touchdowns.
beamers portalWhat position is University of South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer targeting in the transfer portal?
Freshman Dante Reno is a 2024 signee.
Another potential option could be Dante Reno, the only quarterback in the 2024 signing class. Reno, 6-2, is from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and played at Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. As a senior at Cheshire, he completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 2,358 yards, 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and had 232 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
Lulu Keshin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and USA TODAY Network.Please email her at lkesin@gannett.com Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin.
