Don't Be Surprised If a True Freshman Is South Carolina's 2015 QB

South Carolina wrapped up its spring practice session Saturday with the annual Garnet & Black Game at Williams-Brice Stadium, and all eyes were on quarterbacks Connor Mitch, Perry Orth and Michael Scarnecchia.

Mitch, a redshirt sophomore, was the most impressive of the bunch. The 6'3", 220-pound Raleigh, North Carolina, native competed 10 of 16 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown—a 22-yard strike to country music star Darius Rucker in what was the one special play head coach Steve Spurrier runs during each spring game.

Orth was efficient but made a couple of big mistakes. The former walk-on from Ponte Vedra, Florida, completed 11 of 19 passes for 137 yards but was picked off twice. Scarnecchia finished 12-of-19 for 191 yards and a touchdown but took two sacks.

"Connor Mitch is doing fine, and all three of them are," Spurrier said in quotes released by South Carolina. "Statistically, they're pretty similar. Michael Scarnechia, we need to get the ball out of his hands. Sometimes, he won't throw it if he doesn't think it has a chance and so forth. They all do some good things."

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Who has the lead? Mitch probably does, at least for now, based on his experience in the system and his familiarity with the personnel.

Will that last, though?

Lorenzo Nunez—a dual-threat, 4-star Class of 2015 prospect—signed on the dotted line with Spurrier and the Gamecocks in February and could earn playing time in the offense as a true freshman.

"Lorenzo Nunez was here watching the scrimmage," Spurrier said. "He'll be ready to step into the competition as soon as he gets on campus in the summer. We're still trying to see if one guy is better than the rest."

Nunez is more of a dual-threat quarterback than any of the other QBs currently on South Carolina's campus. The 6'2 ½" 190-pounder from Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Georgia, has good top-end speed, is incredibly dangerous in space and keeps his eyes downfield when buying time behind the line of scrimmage.

"Nunez is an intriguing player," said Bleacher Report National Recruiting Analyst Sanjay Kirpalani. "He's got a good arm, and he's clearly a guy who can make things happen when he escapes the pocket."

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He can clearly bring the element of surprise to the Gamecock running game and add a different dimension alongside running backs Brandon Wilds and David Williams and do-everything receiver Pharoh Cooper—who's going to play some role on the ground again in 2015.

While Nunez brings the dynamism on the ground, he still has work to do through the air.

"He completed less than 50 percent of his passes as a senior, so I wonder about his fit in Spurrier's offense," Kirpalani said. "He's a guy who needs time to develop as a passer."

Nunez needs some work through the air, but South Carolina has a really good offensive staff led by Spurrier and quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus. Can they get him prepared enough as a passer during the month of August? That's a tall order, but Nunez's ability to create on the ground makes him as close to a Connor Shaw clone as any quarterback on South Carolina's roster.

Isn't that what South Carolina needs?

Shaw was the catalyst to the golden age of South Carolina football. He took over for Stephen Garcia midway through the 2011 season and was a big reason the Gamecocks won 11 games for three straight seasons from 2011-2013. 

Spurrier's offense evolved into a force different than his "Fun 'n' Gun" days at Florida with Shaw at the helm. Seemingly constant shots deep were replaced with a multidimensional ground game featuring Shaw and a tailback (first Marcus Lattimore and then Mike Davis) and a wildly efficient passing game founded in keeping the chains moving and taking the top off the defense when safeties began to creep up.

Nunez can follow that same blueprint if he can grasp some basic passing concepts early in fall camp.

It's a lot to ask for Nunez to win the job out of fall camp, especially with a tough out-of-conference matchup with North Carolina on the docket to open the season. But a ton of questions surround the South Carolina quarterback position exiting spring practice, and Nunez has the wheels to at least be part of the game plan as a situational quarterback from Day 1.

Once he gets his feet wet, he could slide into the starting role by midseason if no true leader emerges before then.

After all, it's Spurrier, and he has been known to play musical quarterbacks at times during his head coaching career.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com, unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.