Gauthier goes inside his commitment to the Gamecocks
By Phil Kornblut / March 19, 2020 / Recruiting
USC worked hard to earn the commitment of QB Colten Gauthier of Dacula, GA. The work started with head coach Will Muschamp and quarterbacks coach Dan Werner last spring when the offer went it. And it continued with Muschamp and his new quarterback's coach Mike Bobo when he came on board in December. Gauthier took five visits to USC over the last year, the last one coming earlier this month. At that point, he knew his decision.
“I was originally planning on doing it (announcing) at the spring game,” Gauthier said. “I committed to Coach Muschamp about a week ago and I told him I was going to do it at the spring game. With this whole thing going on, I wasn’t too sure that was going to happen. I’m committed so I might as well go ahead and put it out because it’s uncertain what’s going to happen. That was the debate this morning (Wednesday), whether I should do it or I should wait. I decided to do it and send it out.”
On that last visit, Gauthier got the chance to visit behind the scenes with Bobo and talk quarterbacking. Then, he got to watch a practice and watch Bobo teach what he preached.
“I was listening to the offense and it is kind of surreal about how much he knows about the game of ball,” Gauthier said. “It’s convenient because he played the position, too. He gets it. I got to see it live. It was eye opening to see the offense in motion. And I talked to a lot of people too after I left South Carolina. Me and (Ryan) Hilinski are pretty tight. Me and Luke Doty are pretty tight, too. I asked them, what’s your take on Bobo, what’s your vibe? I asked KJ Carta-Samuels, who played for him at Colorado State, because I’m really tight with his brother Austyn Carta-Samuels. We hooked up. We talked about it. I heard really great things. I talked to my coach, Jeff Saturday, and heard a lot of great things. Prayed about it, thought about it for a while, then I decided to call Muschamp and commit to him.”
Last season Gauthier passed for 2400 yards and 20 touchdowns. He’s ranked as one of the top pro-style quarterbacks in the country. And he feels like he can give Bobo exactly what he’s looking for in a quarterback.
“I feel like my biggest strength is I’m able to touch everyone on the field,” Gauthier said. “He asks that you make every throw on the field, and you go as much as you can handle with that offense. I feel like that’s an advantage for me because I’m able to handle a lot of it, because of my arm ability and strength. So, the biggest thing for me fitting in wise, I’m able to make every throw on the field. That’s Coach Bobo’s offense right there. And that’s also probably a reason why I decided to commit. I feel like that’s a high level offense. That’s pro. That’s an NFL type offense. I have aspirations to go to the NFL. Why not go somewhere that’s going to be as close as possible to the real thing. That’s pretty much it for me and how I feel I will fit in.”
Gauthier had double-digit offers and he had Ole Miss, Florida State and UCF also high up on his list. He is rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals and a 3-star by 247Sports.
