Is It SEC Title or Bust for South Carolina Gamecocks?

Defense

A defense that only gave up 20 points per game last year takes a much bigger hit than the offense, especially with the losses up front, but there is lots of talent and experience still in place for the group to possibly match or surpass last year’s production. It also has to withstand a transition to a 3-4 defense, and although usually that’s a recipe for a disastrous first year, this defense is fit to handle it. To do that, though, it will have to start on the line.

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The first and most obvious priority is dealing with the loss of all-everything end Jadeveon Clowney, who might be the best defensive end in recent college football history. In a year where he was hurt and opponents took every possible step to avoid running his way, he still managed 11.5 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks last year. But due to his injury, the loss of his production can possibly be minimized. The production from tackle Kelcy Quarles and end Chaz Sutton also seems hard to replace on the surface after Quarles had an amazing 13.5 tackles for a loss and 9.5 sacks while Sutton had 8.5 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks, but those numbers were skewed by people running away from Clowney. Senior J.T. Surratt is the only regular lineman back and managed 4 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks last year. Junior Gerald Dixon, Jr. will play on the line as well, and honestly, after 3 tackles for a loss in limited action, he can do everything Quarles did and should easily offset the loss. At defensive end, sophomore Darius English can match Sutton’s performance after 16.5 tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss in limited action as a freshman last year, and juniors Mason Harris and Cedrick Cooper also were decent when they played last year and should be fine in the rotation on the outside. Junior Phillip Dukes, sophomore Kelsey Griffin, and junior college transfer sophomore Abu Lamin will be in the rotation in the middle to provide depth, and Lamin could even start. Sophomore Deon Green could have a larger role as well. On top of everybody back and the addition of Lamin, there are also four freshmen on the team for more depth. It’s impossible to expect the unit to match last year’s production, simply because of the impact Clowney made by racking up tackles and drawing attention to himself, allowing his teammates to rack up stats everywhere. But overall the unit should be fine. If it wasn’t for the Clowney factor, it would be safe to predict that the group would be majorly improved, but because of Clowney, a slight drop-off can be expected. Only slight, though.

Whatever losses might have been suffered up front could be made up for with so much experience at linebacker, though. Everybody’s back, starting with sophomore Skai Moore. Moore was the most productive player of the group last year as a freshman with 43 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, and 4 interceptions. Junior Kaiwan Lewis is also back, and he was nearly as productive as Moore after 42.5 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, a sack, and 2 interceptions. Junior Marquis Roberts was nearly as good too with 39.5 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, and 1.5 sacks. Senior Sharon Golightly had 38.5 tackles and 6 tackles for a loss, while sophomore T.J. Holloman had 36 tackles and 5 tackles for a loss as a freshman last year. That makes for five guys who were huge impact players at linebacker last year and are all back, but we’re not done. Sophomore Jordan Diggs managed 20.5 tackles and 4 tackles for a loss as a backup freshman last year, and sophomores Jonathan Walton and Larenz Bryant saw some action too. Adding to the depth, Spurrier also brought in 4-star freshman Bryson Allen-Williams, so despite the 3-4 switch, this group is so loaded that it should be better anyway.

Jan 1, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks linebacker Skai Moore (10) intercepts the ball in the end zone during the second half of the Capital One Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers held at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports

The secondary is very deep at one half and very thin at the other. The safety position is set with everybody back, and four guys played regularly in the rotation there last year. Seniors Brison Williams and Kadetux Marcus, junior T.J. Gurley, and sophomore Chaz Elder will all play significantly again and have more experience. At cornerback, though, the top three performers from last year are gone, including Jimmy Legree and Victor Hampton, each of whom had 3 interceptions. Making things worse, sophomore Jamari Smith was expected to start and is now out for the season. That leaves senior Sidney Rhodes and sophomore Rico McWilliams as the likely starters so far, and redshirt freshman Ali Groves could also be in the rotation. All three could be good, but there’s not enough to go on. However, thanks to a recruiting class that brings in four freshmen cornerbacks, three of whom are 4-stars, and with two more safeties in the mix, Spurrier has plenty of options to choose from if things go south. The group as a whole however, will not match last year’s production. Although the returning safeties and great recruiting should cancel out the losses at cornerback, the 3-4 switch is the game-changer that will make the unit slightly worse than last year.

Despite heavy amounts of talent and experience, the defense will have a slight drop-off this year, particularly because of the 3-4 switch. The change won’t make it historically bad the way Tennessee was in 2012, but it will still cause some growing pains. However, with so much young talent, the future looks very bright for the program. Continue to Next Slide for Special Teams