Greenwood's Quarles, Swearinger focused on LSU
South Carolina’s near-perfect defensive performance in the blowout win against Georgia will not be soon forgotten by fans. That’s not the case, though, for the defenders who made it happen.
Free safety D.J. Swearinger can’t dwell too long on past glories — not with another Top 10 opponent awaiting the Gamecocks.
“It’s not difficult at all. I just close the chapter. Every Sunday, I watch film on the next team,” Swearinger said. “It can be hard (to forget), knowing that we had a big victory but, at the same time, it’s not hard at all. You’ve got a big task at hand in LSU.”
USC held the highly touted Georgia offense to 224 yards and a meaningless late touchdown in the 35-7 win that vaulted the Gamecocks (6-0) to No. 3 in the national polls.
Defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles and Swearinger are from Greenwood and were high school teammates with LSU defensive end Sam Montgomery.
Quarles also said the defense should stay focused on looking ahead, especially since No. 9 LSU (5-1) will be looking to bounce back from a loss to Florida. He said the Gamecocks can keep improving defensively.
“There are little things (you see), technique, footwork, anything, when you watch film,” Quarles said. “It might look good on TV with everybody flying around and making plays, but when you go back and watch film, there’s always something to work on.”
Still, it’s hard to argue with USC’s defensive play. The Gamecocks are second in scoring defense behind top-ranked Alabama in the SEC and third in total defense behind Alabama and LSU. The Gamecocks lead the conference with 25 sacks, led by end Jadeveon Clowney’s 6.5. That pressure had led to eight interceptions, fourth in the league. South Carolina’s rush defense, which has limited opponents to 83.8 yards per game, is second in the SEC and ninth in the nation.
Swearinger said he wants to see the defense reach the highest spot across the board.
“That’s been our goal — to get to the top and be the No. 1 defense in the nation by the end of the year,” he said.
The USC players said the Tigers aren’t going to be easily handled, despite an offense that has struggled in recent weeks. LSU managed two field goals, eight first downs, and 200 total yards in the 14-6 loss to Florida. The Tigers are a different team playing night home games, where they are 34-1 in the eight seasons of the Les Miles era.
South Carolina beat Georgia before a record Williams-Brice Stadium crowd at night and understands those benefits. Swearinger hopes the Gamecocks can feed off the energy of the LSU fans.
“They act different when they are at home. It’s a loud environment,” he said. “Their players love playing there, and we’ll love playing there also.”
South Carolina didn’t play particularly well on the road in winning the season opener against Vanderbilt, 17-13. And the Gamecocks struggled in the first half at Kentucky, where they trailed by 10 before rallying for a 38-17 win. Quarles wants to see USC play a game like it did against Georgia in a hostile environment.
“When we go on the road, sometimes we don’t play up to our full potential,” Quarles said. “I feel like the whole team has a challenge that we need to come out on all cylinders and come out firing.”
The players aren’t ready to admire their handiwork just yet with the season only at the midway mark. They’re ready to carry over the strong play to the back end before they get too excited.
“It’s a great thing to be a part of it, but our work is never finished until the end of the season,” Quarles said. “Until we look back and see how many games we won and what we accomplished, we’re not pleased yet.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2012 at 12:00 AM.