Will Muschamp has harsh words for starting corner

Coming off a loss to Mississippi State in which the team’s defensive fundamentals came apart, South Carolina coach Will Muschamp had some pointed words for one of his starting cornerbacks.

Chris Lammons, the team’s most experienced defensive back, started Saturday night, but eventually gave way to junior college transfer Jamarcus King. Muschamp was asked why, and he didn’t hold back.

“You’ve got to tackle to play defense at South Carolina,” Muschamp said. “It’s kind of important.”

Tackling was one of the biggest issues of the night, as multiple missed attempts and bad angles let the Bulldogs pile up 324 yards at halftime.

Muschamp was visibly irritated by the defense and promised improvement, either from the players who have been seeing time or someone else.

“We’re going to get better,” Muschamp said. “And we’re going to do it with guys that are willing to do it. I assure you of that. It’s hard to be a really good defensive player if you don’t like to tackle. You’ve got to stick your face in the fan and like it, to be honest with you.

“Call it like it is, and we’ve got some folks out there, you know what, we don’t have a lot of options right now. But we’re going to have some moving forward.”

Slow start

One of the few bright spots Muschamp found was how his team came out of halftime after its bad first half. He had a simple message, and they at least took it to heart.

“Just respond,” Muschamp said. “And they did. Just respond. Play with effort, play with intensity, play the way you’re capable of playing. And they did.”

His team faced a 24-point deficit, but linebacker T.J. Holloman and quarterback Perry Orth said their coach again came into halftime calm and in control.

Let’s play two

The Gamecocks’ offense went nearly the entire game with two tight ends on the field instead of a three-wide receiver look that’s become almost standard in college football. Walk-on Jacob August started instead of receiver Jamari Smith. K.C. Corsby played a good bit, while Smith didn’t see many snaps and was never targeted.

Smith had a bad start in the opener, dropping three balls, but Muschamp said the staff was looking at something else.

“It creates an issue for the defense to prepare for as far as whether we’re going to create some blocking surface issues,” Muschamp said. “Hayden is a guy that can split out and do some things in the slot. So can K.C.”

“We’ve got to narrow down more about our identity and what we are.”

That identity involves getting more from a running game that averaged 2.5 yards per carry.

Tight ends were targeted 18 times on 39 attempts, led by 12 to Hayden Hurst. The group had 12 receptions for 92 yards.

Going high

Center Alan Knott said the pair of high snaps quarterback Brandon McIlwain couldn’t handle were an issue of his own focus.

Saturday was his first game back from suspension, and his first snapping the ball live after a wrist injury had him at guard through the offseason.

Injury update

Offensive tackle Blake Camper will miss this week’s game with a high ankle sprain, and starting safety Chaz Elder will miss the game with a rib injury. Both players were hurt during Saturday night’s loss to Mississippi State. Camper started at right tackle against the Bulldogs. Elder has started both games this year.

This story was originally published September 11, 2016 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Will Muschamp has harsh words for starting corner."