Why two new Gamecocks are ‘bright guys,’ ‘impressive’ to the veterans

What stood out most to South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley was the fact Nick Harvey and J.T. Ibe haven’t really had much time with their coaches.

Both are graduate transfers, from Texas A&M and Rice respectively. Both came in during the summer, when players get only a handful of meetings around limited time with coaches (most is spent on workouts). Yet in player-run practices, they’re doing their thing.

“They’re really impressive,” Bentley said at SEC Media Days in Atlanta. “They’re really guys you can tell have played a lot of football. You can tell they’re experienced guys who don’t make a lot of mistakes, and just intelligent guys. They’ve been able to come in here and really, so far, they haven’t had much meeting time with the coaches because it’s just really all player-run. They picked up on the defense from T.J. (Brunson) and them and been able to learn it.”

To translate, that means they picked up the larger picture of the defense by working with a junior middle linebacker through the summer.

And they add something crucial in coach Will Muschamp’s eyes.

“Both very bright guys,” Muschamp said. “It’s the first thing that strikes me. J.T. was a three-year starter at Rice, a very physical player, a very smart player. Nick is a guy that was an elite corner in our league two years ago, and he tore is ACL before last season. He looks really good moving around in the short time that he’s been with us.

“Mature guys. They’ve played, and we’re lacking some experience back there.”

USC bid adieu to three secondary starters, who all started at least two seasons. Beyond Rashad Fenton returning on the outside, nickel Jamyest Williams is moving to safety, and longtime utility man Steven Montac looks likely to start at safety.

So there are spots open.

Harvey seems a good bet to start opposite Fenton, especially with promising corner Keisean Nixon moving inside to nickel. If everything works, and some of the younger players arrive ready to contribute, the team could have its deepest secondary since the late Spurrier era.

One that had to import a little more experience.

“They’re pretty smart guys and have a feel for the game,” wide receiver Deebo Samuel said.

This story was originally published July 22, 2018 at 11:28 AM.