J.P. Giglio, Staff Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. - N.C. State and South Carolina sent out quarterbacks who were making their debuts as starters Thursday night , but neither N.C. State's Russell Wilson nor South Carolina's Tommy Beecher finished the game.
After South Carolina's 34-0 win at Williams-Brice Stadium, N.C. State still has as many questions at quarterback as it did before the game, and the Gamecocks may have found their new starter.
Wilson, a freshman, suffered a Grade 3 concussion with 4:09 left in the second quarter, cutting short his college debut. Team doctors said Wilson avoided a serious neck injury and will eventually be OK.
The same can't be said of the Wolfpack's offense, which used all three of its eligible quarterbacks but finished with 49 passing yards.
Operating out of the shotgun and running a read-option with Wilson and running back Andre Brown, State's ground game looked healthy, with Brown rushing for 101 yards on 21 carries. The passing game fell flat. Wilson went 1-for-5 for 12 yards before being injured.
Daniel Evans and Harrison Beck relieved Wilson, but each showed why he lost a five-man QB competition to Wilson during training camp.
Evans, who started eight games in 2007, threw two interceptions, the second leading to South Carolina's first touchdown. Evans went 4-for-12 passing for 37 yards before being lifted for Beck in the fourth quarter. Beck didn't throw an interception but didn't complete a pass in his three attempts.
South Carolina, under the tutelage of renowned quarterbacks guru Steve Spurrier, had just as many problems as State in the first three quarters. Beecher left the game after suffering what South Carolina officials called a "head injury." Beecher, a junior from Concord, completed 12 of 22 passes for 106 yards and four interceptions.
Spurrier rarely showed such patience with his quarterbacks at Florida, preferring to play musical QBs, juggling two or three of them at a time.
"We'll have to watch the tape and evaluate it and see what in the world happened with Tommy," Spurrier said. "I know this: He threw the ball better in practice than he did out there."
Chris Smelley, who lost the job in the spring to Beecher, had the best night of any of the quarterbacks. He hooked up with Dion LeCorn for a 20-yard touchdown and with Jared Cook for a 13-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Smelley, who started six games in 2007, went 5-for-5 for 91 yards.
Even if Beecher is healthy, Smelley looks like the starter for South Carolina's Sept. 4 game against Vanderbilt.
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