Saturday Blitz
Fansided

South Carolina Football: Gamecocks could be darkhorse contender in 2018

By Matthew Bartlett

COLUMBIA, SC - NOVEMBER 19: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel #1 of the South Carolina Gamecocks is knocked out of bounds short of the endzone by linebacker AJ Newman #4 of the Western Carolina Catamounts on November 19, 2016 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages)
COLUMBIA, SC - NOVEMBER 19: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel #1 of the South Carolina Gamecocks is knocked out of bounds short of the endzone by linebacker AJ Newman #4 of the Western Carolina Catamounts on November 19, 2016 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images /

Defense

An erratic offense was the Gamecocks’ biggest thorn in 2017. For the most part the defense more than held their own. In three of their four losses they held their opponent to 24 points or less. The lone exception, Clemson, went on to win the ACC and represent their conference in the Playoff.

Despite having to replace some key players, South Carolina should be strong on this side of the ball again in 2018. The biggest gap is at linebacker. Skai Moore will no longer patrolling the middle of the field. Instead, someone new will have to step up as the playmaker in the defensive backfield. Junior linebacker T.J. Brunson will shoulder a portion of the load. He finished second to Moore in tackles last season. He also picked up a pair of sacks and forced three fumbles.

One other prominent name to note is graduate transfer Nick Harvey. He comes to South Carolina from Texas A&M and will pair with corner Rashad Fenton on the outside. Those two will force opposing offenses to play to the middle of the field more often than they would like, funneling the ball to Brunson and increasing opportunities for chaos. Harvey isn’t nearly as talented as Fenton, but he’s good enough to get the job done on the outside.

Last season the Gamecocks led the conference in fumble recoveries and only Alabama produced more interceptions that the Gamecocks. That’s a winning formula, and an element which could be the difference between a good defense and an elite defense.