South Carolina true freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez has drawn plenty of praise since his arrival this past summer in Columbia.

That praise has come from within the program, publicly from Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier and now from an SEC Network analyst who I think is one of the best in the business.

Greg McElroy was asked which of the four South Carolina quarterbacks he felt could be the guy this year for the Gamecocks and give them the best chance to “turn things around”- his answer....

“It’s got to be Lorenzo Nunez. (The other) three are very similar, but Nunez brings an X factor. He can run the football. Expect (South Carolina) to us him to use him in situations even if he doesn’t get the starting job. As far as his upside because of his athleticism, it would have to be Nunez.”

Spurrier said Wednesday after praising Nunez post-practice that the Gamecocks were definitely planning on playing the four-star prospect this season and that he would avoid a redshirt.

Sources within the South Carolina program have been high on Nunez and his ability since the summer. Redshirt sophomore Connor Mitch remains the most likely candidate to start for the Gamecocks Sept. 3 against North Carolina in Charlotte, but it wouldn’t be as big of a surprise as you may think to see Spurrier go in a different direction. Mitch is going to have to win the job to be starter, despite what type of spring (a good one) he had.

That’s because there’s new competition and as McElroy said, he brings another dimension to the offense.

Now McElroy also said, and I agree, that whoever wins the job will have to be a great game manager. South Carolina is going to have to run the football this year and whoever the signal caller is will have to get the Gamecocks’ offense into the right running play, audible, etc. That could be difficult for a true freshman, but if all things are similar in that regard (the mental end of the game, the game management, etc.) then you could very well see South Carolina go with the guy that brings the added dimension to the table.

There have only been two practices and this will all have to sort itself out. Chances are, the Gamecocks will have more than one quarterback to start a game in 2015. That’s Spurrier’s MO unless one is head and shoulders better than the other. While that was Mitch in the spring, things are different now. Nunez and Perry Orth, who was rewarded with a scholarship earlier this week, have closed the gap.

Things should get interesting between now and Sept. 3.

