‘I like hitting’: The conversation that had one Gamecock changing positions

The conversation that led South Carolina’s Antoine Wilder to switch positions was ... blunt, if nothing else.

“They came to me a little bit during spring,” said Wilder, who started his Gamecocks football career as a nickel corner. “They were like, ‘Would you be scared to play linebacker? Would you be able to play linebacker?’ And I told them, ‘Yeah, I like hitting guys.’ So that’s a good transition for me.”

He already had a reputation as a bit of a thumper. In his redshirt freshman season, Wilder carved out a role as a nickel who specialized in run support against heavier formations. He’d split time with Chris Lammons, usually a corner who bumped inside for his coverage skills.

The move to Sam linebacker is in some ways a cosmetic one, but he does have to go to a new meeting room and consider a different group of guys his position group.

It’s also a role he sees in a different light.

“I think at linebacker, you can affect every play if you really wanted to,” Wilder said. “It’s just basically knowing what to do, when to do it. Bigger guys coming at you, more linemen pulling, more people coming at you downhill.”

A season ago, Wilder broke into the rotation and made 15 tackles with an interception and a forced fumble, which was crucial in a tight win against East Carolina.

Linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams said the nickel in USC’s system is basically still a third linebacker, but usually quicker to counter spread-out attacks. So the change won’t be so extreme, and Wilder has been welcomed into the linebacker room.

“He’s a hitter, man,” Allen-Williams said. “That’s one of the guys that, on special teams, he shows up every week. He’s a guy that can do a lot of things. He’s very versatile. That’s going to help the team a lot.”

USC projects to face more than a few opponents that could require more traditional three-linebacker defenses. Wilder represents a kind of bridge, a player who could be in that personnel grouping but provide some nickel look.

His skills and the role he had last year helped him move into his new spot. It might not be the biggest change in some ways, but it’s one he’s ready for.

“I didn’t know it was going to come like this,” Wilder said. “But it came. Whatever hand I’m dealt, I’m going to deal with it.”

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 5:43 PM with the headline "‘I like hitting’: The conversation that had one Gamecock changing positions."