Still the One

By Tim Gayle

When Caden Creel looked around the quarterback room last December, he was a little shocked to discover he was the only one remaining in the room.

When he arrived from Fairhope High as an incoming freshman, he was one of six quarterbacks on the roster but when coach Rich Rodriguez left Jacksonville State for West Virginia and was replaced by Charles Kelly, two seniors had graduated, two players had jumped in the transfer portal and another was moved to another position and later left, leaving just Creel.

“It’s definitely an uncertain feeling,” Creel said, “but me and Coach Kelly hit it off immediately. I trusted him from the beginning. He was blunt, up-front, and he’s been like that ever since. The main thing that stood out with Coach Kelly that made me believe in what he did was being process oriented and not so result oriented.

“I told him all I wanted was a chance. I wasn’t going to say, ‘I want to start,’ I just told him I wanted a chance to compete.”

Creel got that chance in the spring game, making an impression on Kelly that remains to this day.

“There was something about him in the spring,” Kelly said. “Really, in the spring game. He had a good spring but when we would scrimmage, he would stand out. When we had our spring game, he just moved the team. I was like, this guy’s got a chance to be a really good player. We were struggling a little bit against Southern Miss and we put him in there and he gave us a spark. He’s a good leader, very tough, very competitive.”

Creel didn’t make an immediate impact, however. First, Kelly had to reload the quarterback room, adding Gavin Wimsatt from Kentucky, Cade Cunningham from Memphis and Greg Jones from Independence Community College, along with a pair of incoming freshmen.

“When I was the only one left, they had to (recruit others),” Creel said. “You can’t be mad about that. The transfer portal is a huge part of our game and I’ve been getting used to that since I’ve been here. New faces, every day, coming in and out of the building. It’s a weird feeling, but I’m so glad all these people came in here, even the quarterbacks. They made me better throughout the process. We had some good competition.”

And as Kelly noted, Creel made an impression in the Gamecocks’ spring game.

“I think the spring game was my first true opportunity in a game-like setting,” he said. “In a practice, it’s hard to simulate the quarterback playing live. I was able to show how I could move the ball down the field, not just with my legs, but with my arm too, and command the offense.”

But it wasn’t enough. When the season opener rolled around, the Gamecocks gave the starting job to Wimsett. Five games later, as the offense was struggling against Southern Miss, they turned to the backup, Creel. He’s been the starter ever since.

“The season for me has been a rollercoaster but I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” he said. “It offered me a lot of opportunity. Started doing some ‘two’ QB stuff at the beginning of the season, just mixing in there. They ended up wanting to get me on the field more so I even ended up playing some special teams. I was a punt returner for a little while. I told them whatever way y’all want me on the field, I’m good with it.

“That slowly led to a little more in-season competition and they gave me the job. Obviously, when you have Cam Cook in the backfield, it makes it really easy. I think our games complement each other really well.”

Cook leads FBS with 127.6 yards per game, but Creel has taken a little of the pressure off of the targeted runner with 1,085 rushing yards on 169 carries, along with 1,341 passing yards.

“As an offense we’ve had some ups and downs but I’m really proud of the way we fought all year,” Creel said. “I think we’re one of the most resilient teams, if not the most resilient team, in the nation. We never quit, no matter what the situation is.”

On Tuesday, the Gamecock offense will face another challenge, going up against an opportunistic Troy defense in the 12th annual Salute to Veterans Bowl.

“We see that every day in practice,” Creel said. “You look at our defense, it’s the same exact way. Schematically, they’re obviously different but as far as forcing fumbles and getting interceptions, they both do a really good job.

“They’re kind of simple at times, but they are very good at what they do. That’s why they’re able to force those turnovers. Just seeing the field, seeing the coverages, attacking them where they aren’t, using space, that’s what we do every week. It’s the same challenge, just a different team.”