USC’s Fenton was more dialed in this spring

South Carolina cornerback Rashad Fenton’s Year 1 to Year 2 transition was anything but slow and steady.

He introduced himself to Gamecocks fans with a long kick return score against LSU, prompting Steve Spurrier to blame himself for not playing the freshman sooner, and then got a little work at corner that didn’t go as well. As a sophomore in 2016, he was one the team’s top three corners, often playing just about every snap at an outside spot.

A not insignificant reason he played so much was that he could hold down a spot and USC had a scarcity of corners who could do that (they had three).

In USC’s recently-finished spring practice, as he transitions toward being a veteran, there’s been a shift.

“Last spring, I would say it was a lot of off and on,” Fenton said. “They were asking for a lot. This spring, a lot of consistency, not a lot of off and on in my performances.”

Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp praised that change, as his team looks to tighten up the back end of the defense.

“I think Rashad Fenton’s playing his best ball since we’ve been here,” Muschamp said halfway through the spring.

Fenton is sharing work with Chris Lammons, the most veteran of the group and the best pure cover player in 2016, and Jamarcus King, far and away the most physically gifted. Redshirt freshman Chris Smith has also been getting his chance.

Not being the best in terms of pure coverage or possessing the highest ceiling, that level of consistency is a valuable trait.

“I’d say it’s more of a play-making, day-to-day type of thing,” Fenton said of his biggest step. “Not just one day you make a play, the next day you don’t.”

Gamecocks secondary coach/defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson said he wants those corners competitive with each other and a little bit selfish. He wants all three guys to fight for the chance to go out with the starters, even if they’re likely rotating anyway (especially of Kaleb Chalmers can do enough at nickel to keep Lammons from having to bump inside).

Fenton admitted he was the youngest of the top three corners, but he’s been able to learn from the older two, and they’ve been able to pick up some things from him.

USC’s corners last season were usually part of schemes built to take away the big play first and foremost. That will likely always be a central tenet of a Muschamp defense, but Robinson at points has talked about getting the scheme heavier on tight, bump-and-run coverages.

What’s next for that group, with six newcomers joining and six rotation players (five starters) back, is unclear, but Fenton thinks he has an idea.

“It’s going to be something very serious coming out this year,” Fenton said.

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 10:37 AM with the headline "USC’s Fenton was more dialed in this spring."