Zack Bailey impressing teammate with transition to tackle
South Carolina offensive lineman Zack Bailey has been making the adjustment to life on the outside.
A guard through all of last season, and an interior lineman across his first two years on campus, he was shifted to tackle before the spring and spent the first week of practices as the No. 1 option on the first side. He’s at least earned the respect of one teammate in the new role.
Starting defensive end Dante Sawyer didn’t hesitate in calling Bailey the toughest lineman he’s gone against this spring. Sawyer is moving into the No. 1 defensive end spot after backing up Marquavius Lewis last season.
“He’s transitioning pretty well.,” Sawyer said. “Everybody has something they could work on.”
Sawyer said Bailey fit naturally at the position, and other players noted his 6-foot-6, 311-pound frame is right in the wheelhouse for a tackle’s body.
Coming back
Sawyer joked the team returned from spring break in mostly tip-top shape. He said Tuesday’s practice moved a little slowly coming out of a week off, with things getting better at it went on. The team didn’t go Wednesday, but he hoped the team would get after it on Thursday.
He was asked if spring practice, the second under Will Muschamp, was a different experience than a season ago, and he honestly couldn’t answer. He was hurt last spring, so he could only watch from afar.
The experience of going through a first Muschamp spring and actually getting on the field wasn’t a totally uncommon one. The number of players who carried over from last spring to this one and were healthy could be generously put at about 43, with plenty of turnover since then.
“I saw some of the spring practice last year, and it’s definitely different,” said second-year linebacker T.J. Brunson, who visited but didn’t enroll until the summer. “He has some of his guys in that he recruited.
“Everyone knows what he wants, what’s expected of us.”
QB of the defense
South Carolina safety D.J. Smith often found himself not sure what to do when he was on the field in his younger days. That’s part of the reason he didn’t see the field all that much.
But he’s grown into a veteran presence in the USC secondary with a much better sense of scheme and responsibilities. Considering he knows that and can share it, he sees himself taking on a role as a quarterback of the defense.
“I help my boys out on D if they don’t know what they’re doing,” Smith said. “For the most part, the young dudes, but even the older guys if they forget something, I feel like I know a lot and can help them out.”
Notes
▪ Brunson has mostly played in the middle, occasionally filling the dime linebacker role. He’s also worked almost exclusively with the first team.
▪ Defensive lineman Keir Thomas has been splitting time between tackle and end, moving inside in pass-rush situations. Shamiek Blackshear has taken the rest of the No. 2 end snaps behind Sawyer.
▪ Starting defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth said sophomore Kobe Smith has been one of the better reserve interior lineman, building off a 2016 season when he was at the edge of the rotation.
This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 9:13 PM with the headline "Zack Bailey impressing teammate with transition to tackle."