Top 10 S Carolina FB QB's Really? 10 good qbs? Naw......

Jul 24, 2017, 1:45 PM

He has proven skill players returning at every position, but it’s one in particular that gives Will Muschamp the most faith entering his second season at South Carolina. Why is this the best offense he’s ever had as a head coach? Because of the quarterback.

Fair or not, quarterbacks can make or break an offense, as was certainly the case in Muschamp’s first year with the Gamecocks. It wasn’t until Jake Bentley took the helm, halfway through the season, that South Carolina began to truly show what it was capable of with the ball. It’s that same presence behind center, now a year older and presumably for a full season, that bolsters Muschamp’s hopes for further improvement in Year 2.

It’s easy to see why. Extrapolate Bentley’s eight-game freshman campaign over a full year, and he would have been the sixth-leading passer in the SEC last season. His 390 yards in the Birmingham Bowl loss to South Florida was the seventh-highest single-game total in USC history, and his 32 pass completions in that same contest stands fourth.

It was one game, of course, but Bentley keeps that going and he’ll continue to march up the Gamecocks record books. For now, though, here is The Post and Courier’s list of the 10 greatest quarterbacks in South Carolina history:

1. Connor Shaw

The no-doubt No. 1 after a career that netted a 27-5 career mark as a starter, best among quarterbacks in South Carolina history, including a perfect 17-0 mark at Williams-Brice Stadium. No question, Shaw had the luxury of being surrounded by the best collection of talent ever at USC, but he was the catalyst. His game-tying, fourth-down, on-the-money touchdown pass to Bruce Ellington in overtime at Missouri remains a thing of wonder.

2. Steve Taneyhill

The ponytail, the swagger, the scrawl-on-the-Paw victory at Clemson — they were all exactly what South Carolina needed as the program gasped for air in its first season in the SEC. Taneyhill led the Gamecocks to their first bowl victory in 1995, and along the way put up mind-boggling numbers on some bad teams. Taneyhill still owns three of the top four passing games in USC history (led by 473 yards at Mississippi State in 1995), as well as the mark for career passing touchdowns, and one of the most iconic moments in the Palmetto State’s biggest rivalry.

3. Todd Ellis

How different might things be had Ellis not gone down with torn knee ligaments on the third play of a 1989 game against N.C. State, which the Gamecocks entered at 5-1-1? Even with that season-ending injury, Ellis’ 9,953 passing yards remains the highest career total ever at USC. While there was no signature moment, in his sophomore season of 1987 he quarterbacked the most talented USC team of the pre-Spurrier era against a loaded schedule, throwing for 3,206 yards (still second-most all-time) in the process.

4. Tommy Suggs

The other half of Gamecocks' current radio team could sling it as well. Suggs recorded the first 300-yard passing game in USC history against Virginia in 1968, and in 1970 was the first Gamecocks quarterback to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark. His total that season of 2,300 yards was the highest in USC history until Ellis showed up. Suggs went unbeaten against Clemson, engineering a three-game streak that wouldn’t be matched again until Steve Spurrier arrived, and led South Carolina to its lone conference title, the ACC championship in 1969.

5. Dylan Thompson

In his one campaign as full-time starter, Thompson carried a team bereft of defense by passing for a USC single-season record 3,564 yards in 2014. But his appearances in relief of the often-injured Shaw were even more memorable. His fill-in start against Clemson produced three touchdowns and a 27-17 road victory that extended what would be a five-game winning streak. And in a bowl game more famous for Jadeveon Clowney’s hit, Thompson came off the bench and found Ellington for the winning score with 11 seconds left against Michigan.

6. Anthony Wright

The end of Wright’s tenure was a mess: a 1-10 record his senior season, when former head coach Brad Scott mismanaged a juggle between the senior and freshman Phil Petty that proved awkward for all involved. But until then the quarterback nicknamed “A1” was a rock of stability in a turbulent time, overcoming torn knee ligaments that ended his junior season to pass for 5,681 yards, still the sixth-best career total in USC history. A long career as an NFL backup, which included a Super Bowl ring with the Giants, doesn’t hurt.

7. Stephen Garcia

We know all about the off-field issues, the suspensions, and how his career at South Carolina ultimately came to an end. But even in a rocky four years in Columbia, Garcia’s talent was evident. His 7,597 yards, coming in 40 starts, is the school's third-highest career total. His 47 career touchdowns rank fourth. And he owns the signature moment of engineering the biggest victory in program history, a 2010 dismantling of then-No. 1 Alabama in which he completed 17 of 20 attempts for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

8. Phil Petty
His bio on the USC website calls him “not flashy or spectacular.” Some viewed him as a game-management quarterback. But if there was a bridge between early SEC struggles and the better years ahead under Lou Holtz and Spurrier, it was Petty, who went 17-7 as a starter in his final two seasons. Underrated as a passer, his 5,652 career yards ranks seventh in USC history. And from the wreckage of 0-11, he oversaw two wins over Georgia and two bowl victories over Ohio State that turned the Gamecocks around.

9. Jeff Grantz

One of the best athletes in USC history, the baseball and football standout engineered one of the more lopsided Gamecocks victories ever over Clemson on the gridiron, a 56-20 mauling that secured bowl eligibility in 1975. His five TD passes in that game are tied for a school record even today. Named second-team All-America that same year by AP, the dual-threat Grantz amassed over 5,000 yards of total offense in his career, best exemplified by a sophomore season where he rushed for 806 yards and nine touchdowns.

10. Blake Mitchell

Perhaps no player benefited more from Spurrier’s arrival than the quarterback who had been a third-stringer in the season before the Head Ball Coach showed up. Mitchell became a three-year starter who would pass for 5,992 yards, fifth-most in Gamecocks history, topped by a 2,370-yard effort in Spurrier’s first year. There were still some dizzying lows, like a 2006 benching, the bowl collapse against Missouri, and five straight losses to end his senior season. But Mitchell’s junior-year completion percentage of 66.8 still ranks third at USC.

Reach David Caraviello at dcaraviello@postandcourier.com, and follow him on Twitter at @dcaraviello.

http://www.postandcourier.com/sports/gamecocks-top-quarterbacks-jake-bentley-aims-to-join-exclusive-club/article_4925bb7c-6d7b-11e7-99c6-673a6bf0d29d.html

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