As he shines against NC State, Muschamp points to senior’s dynamic improvement
South Carolina safety D.J. Smith found himself caught in between.
On the pivotal play of South Carolina’s tilt Saturday with N.C. State, he was set to help double receiver Kelvin Harmon as N.C State went for a fourth down from USC’s 10-yard line. But as the receiver faded toward the sideline and defensive end D.J. Wonnum flushed Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley to his right, Smith felt the need to step up if Finley, a nimble-enough runner, tried to make a headlong sprint toward the goal line.
It put him in the ideal spot.
“We had a double on Kelvin, No. 3, to the boundary and the quarterback scrambled out,” Smith said. “Once I realized he outside released, I let (Jamarcus) King take him and I played in between them. Like I said, I went to come up because I saw him, the quarterback, I didn’t know if he wanted to run it then or pass it. So I just played in between. He threw it just to my range. I threw one arm up there.”
Finley threw the ball toward where Harmon and another mostly covered receiver were crossing in the back of the end zone. Smith was at the front, batting it down.
It was similar to a few plays earlier, when Smith on first down initially went outside to help double a receiver and then floated back in to tip away a ball to someone more inside.
The breakups where part of a day when Smith came up big in some spots but felt he had a tough go at times. He made seven tackles, broke up three passes and pulled down N.C. State’s top offensive weapon, Jaylen Samuels, just short on the line on a crucial fourth-down stop. Smith also said he felt N.C. State targeted him at points, part of a day when USC struggled at times against the pass.
The progress has been notable for a player who admitted his knowledge of the game wasn’t where he wanted it to be his first two years. His first start was a disastrous shootout loss to Kentucky, and his second saw him all but pulled after a pair of rough series.
Now a second-year starter, he credits Will Muschamp’s sometimes-tough-love approach with helping him mature and succeed.
“D.J. is a guy that really has some ability,” Muschamp said. “I didn’t think he always approached practice the right way. I think he’s a guy that’s really bought in and understood, to be a better, consistent performer, if you practice the right way, that’s how you do that.
“He’s been probably as improved a player in our program since I’ve been at South Carolina. It’s his buy-in. He’s bought in to how you prepare.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2017 at 12:44 PM with the headline "As he shines against NC State, Muschamp points to senior’s dynamic improvement."