Backup quarterback passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns 
From a Bible verse to a hotel room visit to a few words before kickoff, the objective was always the same: Get Dylan Thompson's confidence up.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Tuesday it was a struggle to get the sophomore backup quarterback confident for a potential start against East Carolina. After Saturday's 48-10 victory over the Pirates, Spurrier never saw Thompson's confidence so high.
With starting quarterback Connor Shaw sidelined after suffering a deep shoulder bruise against Vanderbilt, Thompson got the start for the Gamecocks. Against Vanderbilt, Spurrier said Thompson "struggled mightily" when in the game for Shaw, having him pulled in favor of senior Seth Strickland.
In the home opener against ECU, Thompson was 21-of-37 for 330 yards and three touchdowns, not throwing any interceptions. Spurrier said if Shaw is 100 percent, he's still the starter, squashing any potential quarterback controversy.a
"It was big because you want to succeed and you want to help the team out as much as you can," Thompson said. "At the same time, the way I look at it, minus the linemen, I'm probably the worst athlete on our team on the offensive side of the ball. The more I have the ball, the more trouble we're in."
The Gamecocks had little trouble from the start. After the offense amassed just 67 passing yards against Vanderbilt, Thompson found wide receiver Damiere Byrd for 53 yards on his third pass attempt .
"I don't know if you saw, but I was probably a little too excited," Thompson said.
From there, tailback Marcus Lattimore ran in the 6-yard touchdown on the next play, giving the Gamecocks an early 7-0 lead after just five offensive plays.
Though Thompson said the fast start was crucial for his confidence, most of the work took place prior to the first snap.
Thompson had been praying all week and said he was encouraged when Spurrier visited him the day before the game. He came to Thompson and gave him a Bible verse, which read, "The Lord your God is with you, why should we fear?"
A visit from the receiving corps, tight ends and a few linemen the morning of the game was next. Wide receiver Bruce Ellington, who finished with four catches for 63 yards, said the group came to Thompson to reaffirm support in him, telling him, "We've got your back."
Tight end Rory Anderson, who caught two touchdown passes and had four catches for 90 yards, said he could sense Thompson feeling more comfortable with the way he handled himself in practice during the week.
"Coach Spurrier is very critical on quarterbacks," Anderson said. "I feel like throughout the week, [Thompson] started taking it better and better. With a coach that won the Heisman as a quarterback, that's kind of a lot of pressure as a quarterback to live up to what he wants."
After the long completion to Byrd to start the game, Thompson shined when he got the opportunity to throw again. Three handoffs to Lattimore lead to a three-and-out on the Gamecocks' second drive, but the third offensive possession went much like the first.
Thompson first found Ellington on a 22-yard completion to get across midfield. Next, Thompson hit Anderson for 17 yards before connecting with Ellington for another 18 yards.
Running back Kenny Miles rushed for 12 yards to get to the ECU 7-yard line before Thompson got his first touchdown pass of the game, finding Anderson again. In five plays and less than two minutes, the Gamecocks extended their lead to touchdowns and didn't let it get close from there, winning with a pass-heavy attack much different than the run-first mentality of the season opener.
"We felt coming in we'd have a chance to get the ball off, get it in the air and see what happens," Spurrier said. "Probably today, the ball was in the air more distance than any game I've coached here."
The last vote of confidence Thompson got was right before kickoff, and it was a familiar saying in his ear.
Lattimore, a friend of Thomspon's since his sophomore year of high school, said Thompson has told Lattimore to remember who he's playing for before every game for the last two years, alluding to their mutual faith in God.
Lattimore, who finished with just 40 rushing yards, returned the favor in a game in which he took a backseat to the passing game.
"He progressed the whole week," Lattimore said. "He never got down. He was making off throws in practice sometimes and Coach would yell at him, but he never got down. He proved it out on the field that all the hard work this week paid off."