South Carolina Football: Time to get excited about the Shane Beamer era
By Shane Lunnen
New defensive scheme and look
New defensive coordinator Clayton White has installed a 4-2-5 scheme for a defense that ranked near the bottom of the country last season. The Gamecocks gave up over 450 yards and 36 points per game, basically being steamrolled in most games.
The new-look defense will rely heavily on the front four and hope that will make up for the depleted back end. All-SEC edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare returns after ranking second in the conference in sacks with six. Aaron Sterling will man the other edge spot with former five-star recruit Jordan Burch and Tonka Hemingway providing depth. The Gamecocks also added Georgia State transfer Jordan Strachan, who recorded 10.5 sacks a year ago, tying for the lead in FBS.
The linebacking corps will miss Ernest Jones, but there are four linebackers with four years of experience in the program. The Gamecocks should have a solid rotation of Sherrod Greene, Mohamed Kaba, Damani Staley, and Rosendo Louis.
The secondary is where things get dicey and could be a real problem if the pass rush is not fixed. Four players are either in the NFL or left in the transfer portal. Cam Smith and Jaylan Foster are veterans however they will need to get the inexperienced guys up to speed. This will be trial by fire for the young guys.