With all the frustration, disappointment and even anger that this season has generated, Gamecock fans should keep one thing in mind: it’s not Perry Orth’s fault. Even with all the finger-pointing that has been occurring, no finger should end up pointing at Orth.
Just last year, Perry Orth was a walk-on. Before this year, he had thrown three collegiate passes. The plan was never for Orth to play much this year, much less start as many games as he has. For a former walk-on to be the starting quarterback at an SEC school seems preposterous at best, especially for a school with the recent success South Carolina has had.
But Perry Orth has done something that both Connor Mitch and Lorenzo Nunez have been incapable of doing: he has stayed healthy. You may question his accuracy on the deep ball or his decision-making late in games, but you can’t question his toughness. He has taken some ferocious hits in the pocket yet always seems to pop right up. He’s smart when he tucks the ball and runs. He is always sure to slide before getting drilled, but don’t take this for weakness. Against the Citadel, his ability to stand tall in the pocket was put on full display when, with a minute left and backed up in his own end zone, two Citadel defenders broke free right through the middle of the offensive line. A sack would have virtually ended the game, so instead of going down to avoid the shot he knew he’d get if he remained standing, he stood tall and released the football only milliseconds before getting driven into the dirt.
Even in the embarrassing, gut-wrenching loss to the Citadel, Orth was one of the few to deliver. Going into the game, all some fans could have hoped for was a mistake-free game from their quarterback. But on top of throwing no interceptions, Orth added 367 yards and a QBR of 76.8.
As much as Gamecock fans didn’t expect this season to go this way, neither did Orth. Three years ago, when he was just a student at a junior college who was not even playing football, he probably would have never dreamed he'd become the starting quarterback at the University of South Carolina. But here he is, putting the team in the best position that he can. It’s not his fault that everyone had bigger and better plans for how this season should pan out. He wasn’t even part of the plan to begin with.