Realistic Expectations for Brandon McIlwain at South Carolina

New South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp has been on a recruiting tear since taking over the program earlier this month, and he has already beaten several programs along the way.

He beat Clemson for 4-star wide receiver Bryan Edwards and Memphis, Illinois, Arizona State and others for Sadarius Hutcherson before the recruiting dead period hit.

Now, Muschamp has an even bigger victory—over Major League Baseball.

The Gamecocks secured the pledge of 4-star dual-threat quarterback Brandon McIlwain of Newton, Pennsylvania, on Thursday afternoon. The 6'0", 200-pounder had been committed to the program since last December, but he was a potential first-round pick in next summer's draft as an outfielder.

What are the Gamecocks getting in McIlwain?

Most likely their best option at quarterback, even as a true freshman in 2016.

Not to take anything away from Perry Orth, Connor Mitch, Michael Scarnecchia or dual-threat rising sophomore Lorenzo Nunez, but McIlwain is a perfect player to run the offense Muschamp intends to run.

During his introductory press conference, Muschamp said that he expects nothing to change from the offense he saw every day in practice in 2015 as the defensive coordinator at Auburn:

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I think last year at Auburn was outstanding for me to work with Guz Malzahn. First of all, he's a first-class individual, a great person and an outstanding football coach. Over the last 10 years offensively he's done as good of a job as anybody in the country. I was able to sit back and see how he administers some things. That's really the identity we want to have. We want to be on the ball; we want to be fast; and we want to be physical. We want to spread the field; we want to make them defend 53 ⅓ yards wide and 120 yards down the field.

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As a senior at Council Rock North High School, McIlwain threw for 1,727 yards and 17 touchdowns, and ran for 1,528 yards and 30 touchdowns, according to Phil Kornblut of the State.

"There's a lot to like about his game," said Bleacher Report recruiting analyst Sanjay Kirpalani. "He's got a cannon for an arm and a smooth delivery. He's athletic enough to create and extend plays with his legs. Plus, he has that natural charisma that guys seem to gravitate to. He's definitely a player who can help turn things around at South Carolina in a hurry."

One look at his highlights, and the arm strength jumps out. He doesn't lose accuracy when he takes a little bit off his throws on short and intermediate routes and can push the ball sideline to sideline.

That's exactly what offensive coordinator Kurt Roper—who is finishing up work with the NFL's Cleveland Browns before joining the staff on a full-time basis—wants from his quarterback.

Roper tried to incorporate a similar philosophy with Muschamp at Florida in 2014. But the combination of Jeff Driskel's ineffectiveness and a remarkable absence of weapons outside made that unit more of a punchline than a power.

South Carolina won't be a punchline, but this is going to be a slow process. Whether McIlwain is the starter out of the gate or eases into the role, patience should be a virtue.

He is the right quarterback for the job, clearly was a focus for Muschamp and will show flashes of what he's capable of right out of the gate. Enrolling early will help him in the race to win the starting job as a true freshman.

Sean Rayford/Associated Press

But 13 interceptions as a senior in high school should be concerning, and there will be plenty of that as he adjusts to the speed of the college game, the new system and the young skill players around him.

The leading returning receiver for the Gamecocks, rising sophomore Deebo Samuel, had just 161 yards and one touchdown in 2015. The addition of Edwards will certainly help matters once he enrolls this summer, but this will be more of a trial-and-error year for McIlwain when he's taking the snaps.

Make no mistake, though, his presence on the roster is huge for the Gamecocks and Muschamp.

It keeps momentum going through the recruiting dead period, gets prospects excited about the future of an offense that, quite frankly, consisted of "Pharoh Cooper and everybody else" in 2015 and establishes a direction for the program.

That's important because Muschamp was a head coach without a direction at Florida.

In an era that pointed directly toward tempo and dual-threat quarterbacks, he initially tabbed Charlie Weis to run a pro-style offense at Florida and followed it up by handcuffing former Boise State offensive coordinator Brent Pease. 

When Roper got to town, it was too little, too late.

Replicating that same staff from the final year in Gainesville is still a risk, and Gamecock fans need to be patient with McIlwain.

It's not going to be smooth right out of the gate.

The absence of weapons for McIlwain and Roper will lead to growing pains, which should be expected for the entire program as Muschamp and his staff try to replenish the roster.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.