Ad Disclosure
Freshman Lorenzo Nunez could be next on South Carolina’s QB carousel
By John Hollis
Published:
True freshman Lorenzo Nunez may be the latest quarterback coach Steve Spurrier will turn to in the hopes of reviving a stagnant offense.
Nunez, a dual-threat quarterback from the North Atlanta suburbs, rotated with starter Perry Orth before playing almost exclusively in the second half of the crushing 52-20 loss at Georgia on Saturday. Spurrier said Sunday that he planned to prepare both quarterbacks to play in Saturday’s game against winless Central Florida.
Orth, a former walk-on, began the game on solid footing, but misfired on 10 of his final 12 passes to finish 6-for-17 with 66 yards and an interception. The Gamecocks’ 84 yards passing was their lowest total in more than three years and matched the second-lowest passing total in Spurrier’s 11 years as the South Carolina coach.
“Lorenzo did a lot of good things in there running the ball,” Spurrier said, according to The State. “Gotta let him throw it, too, though. He can’t just be a running quarterback. We will try to give him a little bit bigger game plan. Perry didn’t have a lot of chances (against Georgia) and he struggled as we know.”
Nunez (6-foot-3, 210) had his moments against the Bulldogs, using some deft ball fakes and running skills to make a few plays against an aggressive Bulldogs defense loaded with athletes.
But a running quarterback alone is not going to beat a team of Georgia’s caliber or some of the others to soon follow.
It was apparent that Nunez hailed from a run-oriented program in high school that didn’t require him to throw the football very often. He’s attempted just five passes in the two games in which he’s appeared, completing four.
Quarterback is certainly one of the many areas in which South Carolina is struggling right now but easily the most visible one. Unlike years past, the Gamecocks defense is not strong enough to carry the load as it had at times in the past while the offense came together.
The schedule won’t get any easier, as dates at Missouri and a visit by LSU will follow the UCF game.
It’s a good bet that Spurrier had hoped to redshirt Nunez this year and carefully groom him into the role for the future, but necessity dictated otherwise following Connor Mitch’s separated shoulder against Kentucky and Orth’s struggles. Mitch is expected to be out for several more weeks.
It collectively means the Head Ball Coach may no longer have the luxury of bringing Nunez along slowly. His time could be now.
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
