South Carolina has the furthest thing from a quarterback competition this fall, but there's still a backfield battle in Gamecock Park for the third straight season.
Running backs Rico Dowdle, Ty'Son Williams and A.J. Turner were all listed as first-teamers on the Gamecocks' preseason depth chart, and they seem to be handling the competition well in its first few days.
"I just have to keep working hard to stay in the rotation," said Turner, a redshirt sophomore. "We don't take a day off, we never slack off a day, because we're all trying to compete for the starting job. And overall that just makes us better."
Quarterback Jake Bentley was asked about the competition Sunday, and he told reporters that he's seen the benefit already.
"The best thing for Rico was Ty'Son coming in," Bentley said. "I've been able to see them push each other every day. And then A.J. is right there with them too."
Dowdle beat out Turner as a true freshman last season, starting in the final seven games and finishing with 764 rushing yards. The expectation is that he and Williams, a UNC transfer, will get the first crack at the starting job, but Will Muschamp wanted to make it clear Sunday that the competition is very open between all three players.
"Who practices the best, who prepares the best, who takes care of the ball ... Whoever that guy is will be the guy that carries the ball a bunch on game day," Muschamp said when asked about who might start the Sept. 2 opener.
While Turner and Dowdle traded snaps on the field last season, Williams was in shorts on the sideline, sitting out the season due to NCAA transfer rules. After only being able to watch last season, Williams is excited just to have a chance to touch the ball this season, but he'll still have to work to earn consistent playing time.
"It would mean a lot,” Williams said Tuesday of the starting job, “especially with sitting out for a year. All we can do is control what we can control right now. That’s going out and having a great training camp. Practicing hard."
Muschamp has put plenty of emphasis on work ethic, but he said Sunday that his team has responded well to summer workouts and that they don't complain about camp, like average teams do.
Dowdle, already regarded as an explosive ball-carrier, has been working on a different aspect of his game: pass protection.
"I think pass protection just comes with experience," the Asheville, North Carolina native said Tuesday, "so I think it's improved, but there's always more work to be done."
Joe McLean contributed to reporting.