Steady light rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 56F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Steady light rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 56F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer and quarterbacks coach Mike Shula had to expand the quarterback board for the 2027 class after Trent Seaborn of Alabaster, Ala., committed to Alabama.

Justin Murphy (6-0, 194) believes he can handle the job, and he’s let the Gamecocks coaches know, including recruiter Marqel Blackwell, that he wants to pursue playing quarterback in college.

“It started off as that they were recruiting me as a DB, then it switched to athlete, because I told them I wanted to play QB,” Murphy said. “Now, they are starting to look at me as a QB, so I’m just keeping my head in the right path. I just keep telling them I want to play QB, and my film has showed that. So, I’m just looking forward to them to start recruiting me and start looking at me as a QB.”

The next step in that process took place on Saturday when Murphy made his first recruiting visit to USC for the Oklahoma game.

“It went good being up there for the first time at Willy B. Stadium,” Murphy said. “It’s a nice stadium. I was able to talk to Mike Shula. It was my first time to be able to see him and talk to him. I felt good talking to him. I talked to Coach Beamer for a little bit in the pre-game. Just saying what’s up and greeting him. That was my first time seeing him. It was good seeing all the coaches, coach Blackwell also. It was good just seeing everybody.”

Blackwell offered Murphy as a DB in February. Now, he’s got the staff pretty much convinced to look at him as a quarterback, and apparently, Shula is seeing the light as well.

“It’s in the works. They’ve been talking about even more,” Murphy said. “They are starting to recruit me more for QB. It’s in the works, for sure. He was telling me about stuff they look for as a QB. Leadership, that’s really the main thing. Able to pass to a receiver that’s open, and have it on time, that’s really just the main three. They just like the way I throw the ball, and the way I’m able to move out of the pocket and create separation. They always talk about my track speed. That’s really the main thing.”

Murphy has now seen the Gamecocks in person after watching them on TV, and he sees an offense where he thinks he can excel.