How South Carolina picked Jonathan Walton to go from defense to offense

How exactly does the South Carolina football staff go about pulling a defensive player across to the offensive side of the ball or plucking someone up for a larger role?

One might imagine a meeting of the coaches, running down a roster or depth chart, picking out names: maybe linebacker Jonathan Walton could play some offense, maybe wide receiver Hayden Hurst needs more time on the field, maybe we should carve out a fullback role to get K.C. Crosby on the field.

This is not the way things go. It’s a process always ongoing.

“As a coach, you evaluate your players whether they’re offense or defense,” Elliott said. “I evaluated our defensive line when I was a line coach, our linebackers, our secondary. And I’d say, ‘Man he’d be a great fullback,’ or ‘He’ll be a great tight end’ or this guy might be better suited to this position.”

That’s what he thought when during the spring, he looked at defensive end Darius English, who was not producing much as a pass rusher, and asked if that long, lean build (with strength that might be near-best on the team) could be put to use at tight end. Spur T.J. Gurley said former coach Steve Spurrier even asked the defensive staff if cornerback Chris Lammons might find his way over to offense.

“Just because he’s not generating strong play over there at this point doesn’t mean we can’t utilize him on the offensive side,” Elliott said. “It may be someone different this time.”

The last time, Walton slid from linebacker, where his snaps have gone down through the season, to a new and yet familiar place in the backfield. He only played six offensive snaps, but it gave the Gamecocks offense a little something extra and a new look.

Defenses didn’t expect it, and neither did he.

“I got a text Monday to see coach after the team meetings and see the running backs coach,” Walton said. “So it was a shock then.”

He’d played running back as a middle-schooler and sparingly in short-yardage situations in high school (he ran for 401 yards at 9.8 yard per carry as a senior). Auburn recruited him as a fullback-type, and the chance to play defense helped lure him to Columbia.

He started six games on defense last season, but Skai Moore moving outside left him at second-string. With that in mind, why not try offense?

Saturday, he lined up beside quarterback Perry Orth and across from Crosby, another player in the mobile, blocking role. Walton didn’t carry the ball as he did in high school, but run blocking wasn’t foreign.

“I always feel if I’m running the ball, I want the guy in front of me to block,” Walton said. “So if I’m in front of the guy running the ball, I’m going to block.”

He got the chance to handle the ball, slipping into the flat for a 10-yard scoring pass, and he probably should have made a catch earlier. On a fourth-down play, he slipped out and even looked back for the pass, but Orth had misdiagnosed the defense and handed off for a loss.

Considering offensive players spent countless practice snaps blocking him, it was fair to wonder how everyone would deal with him splitting between the sides (defensive teammates call him a “hybrid”). But offensive lineman Mike Matulis said the offensive players loved having him in the room, especially with how physical he is.

Walton’s old defensive teammates, they know well enough not to go head-on with Walton’s 235-pound frame in practice. Gurley has seen his high school highlights, watching him run over defenders, knock off helmets and be “a force to be reckoned with.”

They know he runs hard and, dabbling in a new role, he’s still not one to be trifled with.

“Then they gave him the ball last week and Chris Lammons would go, ‘Oh, you don’t want none of that,’ ” Gurley said. “He moved out (of) the way, like, no, no, don’t mess with Jonathan.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 8:43 PM.