South Carolina Football: Why Dylan Thompson can lead the Gamecocks to the SEC title

Now that Connor Shaw is headed to the NFL after a 27-5 record, including a flawless home campaign, as the South Carolina Gamecocks starter, fifth-year senior Dylan Thompson finally gets his opportunity to be the guy and with a deep offense around him can lead the Gamecocks to the SEC title as the team’s starting quarterback.

Thompson served admirably as Shaw’s backup each of the past two seasons compiling a 3-0 record as a starter and has 25 games under his belt, unlike the Georgia Bulldogs and Missouri Tigers who are breaking in Hutson Mason and Maty Mauk at quarterback. Thompson has a wealth of experience that doesn’t make him your typical first-year starter and head coach Steve Spurrier gave Thompson a glowing endorsement to ESPN.com this spring,

"“I think he’s by far our best player right now, Spurrier said. Dylan is going to be ready. He’s a fifth-year senior. He and Connor Shaw came in together. Connor was not redshirted and Dylan was, so this is his opportunity, and he’s going to make the most of it. I think he’s a really good player and he’s going to prove it to people this year.”"

Possessing one of the bigger arms in the SEC, the 6-3, 218-pound Boiling Springs, S.C. native is a career 120-of-218 passer with 1,827 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. He won’t tuck the ball and run as often as Shaw who had at least 131 carries and an average of 506 rushing yards the past three seasons, but Thompson can post better passing numbers in his final college season.

Shaw was easily one of the more underrated players in the SEC, if not the entire nation last season, and the leadership and intangibles he brought to the team were invaluable; but you can replace his 2,447 passing yards and 24 touchdowns.

Thompson brings a big-play element to the passing game with his booming arm and because of his stature can stand in the pocket and deliver accurate throws without having to scramble out of the pocket and subject himself to undue punishment from nasty SEC defenses like his predecessor.

Thompson was able to see so much action as a backup the last two seasons because of Shaw’s gutty style of play that often left him battling a myriad of injuries when he would run the ball. Shaw earned the respect of his coaches, teammates and opponents by battling through them and still playing at a high level, much like he did when he came on in relief of Thompson in the overtime win against Missouri, but Thompson doesn’t need to be Shaw to succeed.

The South Carolina offense features arguably the nation’s deepest backfield with Mike Davis returning after an 1,183-yard season, Brandon Wilds, Shon Carson and redshirt freshman David Williams each capable of starting at 10 other SEC programs. Davis likely would have led the SEC in rushing if not for breaking down as a result of injury in the final month of the season, and has seen Thompson embrace his new leadership role this offseason.

"“Dylan has stepped it up a lot,” Davis said. “As far as taking control of anything, he’s there. As far as any events going on, he’s there. And as far as running as a group, he was the guy trying to be out front, and most of the time he was. If anyone should be impressive this year, it should be Dylan.”"

South Carolina should find itself in a number of favorable third down situations that won’t put undue pressure on Thompson and the play-action passing game will keep defenses honest all season which will give Thompson a number of high-percentage passing downs and chances to hit the home run.

If a strong running game is not the best friend of a quarterback, a big, talented, experienced offensive line is and that’s what Thompson will have lining up in front of him.

"“I think our offense is really solid, and I think that helps me a lot,” Thompson said. “I think our offensive line is as good as it’s ever been here. We’ve got guys that should be in the NFL next year.”"

The projected starting offensive line for the Gamecocks averages 322 pounds and stands at 6-5. Thompson will have five personal bodyguards keeping defensive linemen from harassing him and risking injury with a big sack.

Rounding out the offense for Thompson are his weapons in the passing game that should see Shaq Roland, Damiere Byrd and Pharoh Cooper become household names this season. Losing Bruce Ellington to the NFL draft hurts, but Roland has immense potential and Cooper is primed to breakout as a true sophomore after excelling on special teams as a freshman.

The talent Thompson has at his disposal is better than Shaw had at any point in his career and that includes Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery, so Spurrier’s team should be able to average the 34 points per game they posted last year which was good for 33rd in the nation.

The big question surrounding the team besides Thompson replacing Shaw is how this defense replaces All-American defensive end Jadeveon Clowney who may be the best defender to ever wear the garnet and black. Clowney won’t be the only defensive linemen that needs to be replaced as Chaz Sutton and Kelcy Quarles are gone as are cornerbacks Victor Hampton and Jimmy Legree.

With the exception of Auburn winning the SEC last season, the conference is traditionally won with elite defenses leading the way. South Carolina may not be as elite as last year’s No. 12 scoring defense, but it does feature a star-in-the-making in weakside linebacker Skai Moore. In fact, Moore leads a strong group of linebackers that also returns Kaiwan Lewis, Marcquis Roberts and Sharrod Golightly at the “spur” position.

The defense will have a lot to prove, but the it has reloaded in year’s past under Spurrier and maintained their status among the nation’s best defenses. A strong defense that gets off the field on third downs will make Thompson’s job much easier on offense and won’t find himself in many shootouts.

South Carolina is in the midst of their Golden Age of Gamecock football after three, 11-win seasons in a row that has seen them defeat the in-state rival Clemson Tigers each year and win their bowl games each of those year, including the 2012 Outback Bowl won by Thompson’s game-winning touchdown pass to Ellington with 11 seconds remaining in the game.

An 11-win season can happen again because they face Texas A&M, Georgia and Missouri who are all breaking in new quarterbacks in the first five weeks of the season. Further, the Gamecocks get each of those inexperienced quarterbacks at Williams-Brice Stadium.

South Carolina should be 7-0 for their Oct. 25 meeting at Auburn in a game that could decide the winners in the SEC east and west. If South Carolina can knock off last year’s champion, a berth in the college football playoff will be within their grasp.

The end of the schedule sees road trips to Florida and Clemson, but considering the Gators have dropped three of the last four in the series and are a big question mark and the Tigers haven’t beat the Gamecocks since 2008 and won’t have Tajh Boyd or Sammy Watkins and it’s a realistic proposition that Thompson can lead South Carolina to an undefeated regular season if they get past Auburn.

"“They are looking at how hard I am going,” Thompson tells The State. “They are looking at how much extra I am doing. I do believe that plays a role in the offseason. I’m going to be in there more than anybody, putting in more time, because I think to have a great team you have to have a great leader at the quarterback position.”"

Thompson has the experience, the arm, the weapons and the coach to have a magical season for South Carolina, one that could end with him getting sized for a championship ring and he’s working hard every day to reach that goal and playing behind Shaw has rubbed off on the new signal-caller in Columbia.