USC film breakdown: McIlwain package, Turner runs, more

South Carolina’s football staff wasted little time in taking the wrapping off new quarterback Brandon McIlwain.

Then they gave him some new looks to run while also nursing him along in the passing game.

A close breakdown of the film showed the Gamecocks coaches were confident in using him as a primary running option. During his four drives, the team called seven runs, and six either guaranteed he’d carry the ball or were designed for him to potentially do so.

Three times USC called for McIlwain to run a classic power play called “counter,” where a guard and tight end come across the formation and open a hole off tackle (the runner takes what’s called a “counter step,” which leads to many calling it a draw). He also ran what is called a “power read,” where a back or receiver runs outside and the quarterback can hand it off or plunge up the middle depending on where an unblocked defender goes.

QB Counter:

While the staff threw his body into the heart of opposing defenses, they limited his ability to throw the ball there.

Of his 11 passes, eight were quick reads, either screen passes or plays where there was likely one defender to read to decide between run and pass. When McIlwain did have to run full passing plays, twice on third downs, he didn’t set his feet and looked unsure, not exactly a shock with a true freshman.

That’s why it helped to have senior Perry Orth on hand.

Orth started 1-for-4, hurt by two drops and what looked like a miscommunication with a young receiver. Not only did Orth recover to go 10-for-15 in the second half, he often dug the USC offense out of holes.

He dropped back on eight third downs of 6 yards or longer and converted five. The routes he hit ran the gamut from screen to tough fade to a little shallow cross route, but a corner route to Deebo Samuel was some of the best execution one will find from an offense.

Vanderbilt’s defensive linemen looped around one another, but South Carolina’s five linemen handled the look and stonewalled it. Orth threw a laser that dropped in where it had to, and Samuel put on the little extra burst to softly haul in a 30-yarder that put the Gamecocks in position for their first score.

Corner route:

New back, same look

A.J. Turner was a surprise starter considering the chatter in the offseason, and while a new back debuted for a new staff with 13 carries, the kinds of runs were hardly different than the old approach.

Ten of his runs were on some variation of an inside zone concept, the bread-and-butter play (run about half the time) of South Carolina’s running game under offensive line coach Shawn Elliott. Although the line gave up some penetration, Turner seemed natural moving through the traffic and finding seams and space.

In the late going, the staff started to call a sweep play it used about a third of the time in the past. With several linemen pulling outside to open an ally, Turner broke a 20-yarder to set up the game-tying touchdown.

Pin-and-pull sweep:

Rush hour

South Carolina’s total of one sack might not stand out, but the pass rush looked a shade better than that number might show.

The Gamecocks got pressure on nine of the Commodores’ 24 dropbacks, with five more where a defender got into a passer’s space. They did this despite rarely sending extra rushers and play-calling decisions Vandy made to protect its young quarterbacks.

Screen passes, shovel passes and other quick plays to beat the rush accounted for seven of Vanderbilt’s 23 attempts. South Carolina got its best pressure late, when the Commodores were down and went to more conventional passing sets.

Vandy forced to pass:

South Carolina did spend nearly 30 percent of the time with only three down linemen, standing up and moving around their Bucks. They also spent two-thirds of the time pulling safeties closer to the box or over receivers, something Will Muschamp said was tied to Vanderbilt’s reliance on the run and short passing concepts.

Notes

▪  Linebacker T.J. Holloman showed off his versatility in a big way. With Vandy playing its heavier sets, USC used three linebackers more, shifting Holloman to the strong side. He was asked at times to cover in space, including playing very deep at one point, a little like a safety.

▪  After slot receiver Jamari Smith had a couple bad drops, the Gamecocks started shifting personnel. For most of the end of the game, they played two tight ends, with K.C. Crosby often filling in at the slot.

▪  Although much-maligned tailback David Williams didn’t post a good day on the stat sheet, he did add something with his blocking. He threw a couple nice lead blocks for McIlwain and got in the way of a defender to spring Deebo Samuel for the team’s only touchdown.

▪  South Carolina’s defensive line did a good job early holding up against run blocking and slipping off to tackle a runner as he went by. That kept a lot of runs at 1 to 2 yards. Late in the game, when fatigue set in, USC’s linemen had more trouble getting off blocks and had trouble finishing tackles when they did.

This story was originally published September 5, 2016 at 1:37 PM with the headline "USC film breakdown: McIlwain package, Turner runs, more."