Much has been made about South Carolina's decision not to pursue highly-rated quarterback Jacob Park (Goose Creek, S.C./Stratford) this recruiting cycle.
Park, who has committed to Georgia, is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Palmetto State for the Class of 2014 by 247Sports. He impressed the Bulldogs and Alabama in summer camps, earning offers from both SEC programs, placed highly at the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp finals and by all accounts is one of the top prospects in the country at his position for 2014.
So why did the Gamecocks show limited interest?
Simply put, Park wasn't a fit for South Carolina and Gamecocks fans should be fine with that if you look at the present and the history of head coach Steve Spurrier and the position.
First, the Gamecocks have not been in as good of shape at the quarterback position during the entire era of the program competing in the Southeastern Conference. USC has two quarterbacks in Connor Shaw (17-3 as a starter at South Carolina) and Dylan Thompson (won the Clemson game, threw the winning touchdown pass in the Outback Bowl against Michigan) that can step in and win games. Beyond that, redshirt freshman Brendan Nosovitch and true freshman Connor Mitch both showed flashes of brilliance in the spring, particularly during the annual Garnet and Black game.
Second, USC quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus, who inherited little depth when he arrived at South Carolina following the 2008 season, has built the stable of signal callers by making sound evaluations and getting the "right" players, not necessarily the highest-ranked ones.
Mangus recruited Shaw and Thompson (2010 class), Nosovitch (2012 class) and Mitch (2013 class) personally. If you want to go beyond who he's signed at Carolina, you can look at the other prospects he's targeted for the Gamecocks and see that he's one of the best in the country when it comes to finding a quarterback that can perform at a high level. In the 2013 class, prior to getting Mitch, Mangus had Christian Hackenberg, who will be in contention for the starting job at Penn State this season, in his crosshairs. This was well in advance of anyone ranking Hackenburg as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the country.
In the 2011 class, Mangus went to New Jersey and signed Tanner McEvoy. While McEvoy transferred prior to last season, his talent and ability is not in question. He threw for more than 3,000 yards last season at Arizona Western Junior College and is now in contention to be the starter at Wisconsin this season. Prior to zeroing in on McEvoy, Mangus had Max Wittek, who very likely will be the starter at Southern California this season and has an NFL future if he stays healthy and productive, as the top quarterback on his board.Also if you look back at Spurrier's career at Florida, it wasn't always the elite quarterbacks that ended up thriving in his system. It was a guy like a Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel or a Rex Grossman- talented players for sure, but not exactly guys that are going to be five-star prospects- that thrived. Guys like Brock Berlin (No. 1overall recruit) and Bobby Sabelhaus (ranked above Tom Brady in his class) did not pan out.
So the bottom line is, Mangus proven to know what he's doing and not every quarterback is a Spurrier fit. It takes a certain type of player and you have to trust the South Carolina staff's evaluations in this case. We understand the hesitancy because of the history of the program. Everyone has seen Georgia cross the Savannah River and land a Richard Seymour or a Tim Jennings and watched them go on to great careers as Bulldogs. Chances are, Park will be just fine at UGA and could have a great career.
But South Carolina is going to be just fine, too.
Park, who has committed to Georgia, is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Palmetto State for the Class of 2014 by 247Sports. He impressed the Bulldogs and Alabama in summer camps, earning offers from both SEC programs, placed highly at the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp finals and by all accounts is one of the top prospects in the country at his position for 2014.
So why did the Gamecocks show limited interest?
Simply put, Park wasn't a fit for South Carolina and Gamecocks fans should be fine with that if you look at the present and the history of head coach Steve Spurrier and the position.
First, the Gamecocks have not been in as good of shape at the quarterback position during the entire era of the program competing in the Southeastern Conference. USC has two quarterbacks in Connor Shaw (17-3 as a starter at South Carolina) and Dylan Thompson (won the Clemson game, threw the winning touchdown pass in the Outback Bowl against Michigan) that can step in and win games. Beyond that, redshirt freshman Brendan Nosovitch and true freshman Connor Mitch both showed flashes of brilliance in the spring, particularly during the annual Garnet and Black game.
Second, USC quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus, who inherited little depth when he arrived at South Carolina following the 2008 season, has built the stable of signal callers by making sound evaluations and getting the "right" players, not necessarily the highest-ranked ones.
Mangus recruited Shaw and Thompson (2010 class), Nosovitch (2012 class) and Mitch (2013 class) personally. If you want to go beyond who he's signed at Carolina, you can look at the other prospects he's targeted for the Gamecocks and see that he's one of the best in the country when it comes to finding a quarterback that can perform at a high level. In the 2013 class, prior to getting Mitch, Mangus had Christian Hackenberg, who will be in contention for the starting job at Penn State this season, in his crosshairs. This was well in advance of anyone ranking Hackenburg as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the country.
In the 2011 class, Mangus went to New Jersey and signed Tanner McEvoy. While McEvoy transferred prior to last season, his talent and ability is not in question. He threw for more than 3,000 yards last season at Arizona Western Junior College and is now in contention to be the starter at Wisconsin this season. Prior to zeroing in on McEvoy, Mangus had Max Wittek, who very likely will be the starter at Southern California this season and has an NFL future if he stays healthy and productive, as the top quarterback on his board.Also if you look back at Spurrier's career at Florida, it wasn't always the elite quarterbacks that ended up thriving in his system. It was a guy like a Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel or a Rex Grossman- talented players for sure, but not exactly guys that are going to be five-star prospects- that thrived. Guys like Brock Berlin (No. 1overall recruit) and Bobby Sabelhaus (ranked above Tom Brady in his class) did not pan out.
So the bottom line is, Mangus proven to know what he's doing and not every quarterback is a Spurrier fit. It takes a certain type of player and you have to trust the South Carolina staff's evaluations in this case. We understand the hesitancy because of the history of the program. Everyone has seen Georgia cross the Savannah River and land a Richard Seymour or a Tim Jennings and watched them go on to great careers as Bulldogs. Chances are, Park will be just fine at UGA and could have a great career.
But South Carolina is going to be just fine, too.
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