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Tommy Beecher can only smile when he is reminded that he'll make the first start of his career tonight against the N.C. State Wolfpack.
"I'm ready for Thursday to come. I've been waiting a long time for this," Beecher said on Sunday. "I'm excited. I've had a lot of time to think about this, and I'm just ready for it to come."
"A long time" is an understatement for the redshirt junior. After all, it was Beecher who nearly transferred out of the program two years ago after finding himself buried on the depth chart.
After leading his Concord High School football team to its first state championship in 75 years during his senior season in 2004, Beecher's future was anything but clear.
The only school to officially extend him a scholarship offer was Division 1-AA Richmond, while the hometown Duke Blue Devils sought Beecher's services at a position other than quarterback.
"Duke wanted me to play tight end," Beecher said. "But I didn't want to play tight end. I think they had signed the quarterback they wanted [in the 2005 class]."
It was clearly tough for Beecher, who had a strong passion and desire to play for his hometown university.
"I grew up in North Carolina and was a big Duke fan," Beecher said. "My mom and all of my uncles went to Duke."
However, one team's trash was another's treasure.
After USC Coach Steve Spurrier was hired in November 2004, the former Duke coach immediately went looking for someone to run his offense.
Spurrier first heard of Beecher through an administrative assistant at Duke, who had informed him that the Blue Devils were passing on the gunslinger's services.
The rest was history. Beecher became the first ever quarterback to commit to Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks and left behind his dreams of playing for the Blue Devils.
"[Former Duke] Coach Roof and I became close. As soon as I decided to sign my letter of intent to come here, he gave me a call and told me congratulations," Beecher said. "He's been very supportive ever since I've been down here."
However, it wasn't all roses and smiles for Beecher upon his arrival in Columbia. Five different players attempted a pass in Beecher's first season.
The North Carolina native wasn't one of them.
Beecher looked to head out of the door at Williams-Brice Stadium at the end of season, but instead he turned to his strong religious faith, which convinced him to remain a Gamecock.
That faith would continue to be tested through the next several months. After then second-string quarterback Antonio Heffner transferred following the conclusion of the 2005 season, Beecher's chances would seem to have improved in garnering playing time.
However, the redshirt freshman only attempted two passes in 2006, completing both for 19 yards and a touchdown.
Beecher received his first legitimate chance at being the starter at the beginning of the 2007 season. After incumbent starter Blake Mitchell was forced to sit out the opening game against Louisiana Lafayette, Beecher began a stare-down with redshirt freshman and Alabama native Chris Smelley.
Unfortunately for Beecher, Smelley won the starting job against the Ragin' Cajuns. Despite earning playing time in the contest, including throwing a touchdown pass to receiver Kenny McKinley, the right-hander would continue to wait in line for his time to shine.
His perserverance was one of the signs that allowed Coach Spurrier to make the decision to name him this season's starting quarterback.
"It's been well-documented what type of young man Tommy is," Spurrier said. "I think that will help our team. I hope it rubs off on the other players. He certainly does have a chance to be a quarterback that's a leader because of the way he handles himself."
Other than Beecher's perserverance, his intelligence was one of the many other reasons that led to his upcoming starting job.
In 2006, Beecher was the football team's Harold White GPA Award winner among offensive players.
He then was awarded the Andrew Sorensen Scholar-Athlete Award in consecutive years for earning the highest grade point average on the team. Through his first three years at Carolina, Beecher has accumulated an impressive 3.83 GPA.
In addition, Beecher currently holds a Wyman L. Williams Scholarship for Mathematics.
Coupled with his knack for winning close football games, most of which came during his final season at Concord High, Spurrier has dubbed Beecher the quarterback for the entirety of the season, barring any unforeseen injury.
"Tommy's going to get a chance to go the distance," Spurrier said. "Tommy's earned the right to be the quarterback, and he's going to have every opportunity to hang in there a long time. I think he's ready to play and he's put in a lot of time to know our offense very well."
Spurrier clearly has a strong confidence in the junior, as he eliminated any form of a quarterback controversy upon the conclusion of spring practice.
The fourth-year head coach dubbed Beecher USC's incumbent starter at a Gamecock Club meeting in April.
However, Spurrier isn't the only one with unprecedented confidence in Beecher.
"His confidence shot way up," wideout Kenny McKinley said of Beecher last July. "He has the whole team behind him. This summer, when he stepped into the huddle and talked to the guys, everybody listened. Beecher is the man, and we're rallying around him 100 percent. I have no doubt he will show everybody what he can do."
"It's a good feeling knowing that an All-American like McKinley would say that about you," Beecher said. "I've got complete confidence in them that they'll make plays for me, and I hope that they have complete confidence that I'll get the ball to them."
So, despite the fact that Beecher has attempted only 25 career passes, everyone knows that it is now his time.
Tonight, when he takes the field against North Carolina State, he'll finally know it too.
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