South Carolina is struggling at safety. So where is Jaylin Dickerson?

Early in August of 2017, one might have thought Jaylin Dickerson was destined to start at safety for South Carolina’s football team with the way the coaches spoke about him.

More than a year later, he’s hardly in the rotation at what might be the position struggling the most on the Gamecocks’ roster.

So what happened?

“He missed about 10 days of camp with a hamstring,” Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said. “And when a young player misses one day of camp, it’s an issue. When you miss eight or 10 days, it’s a major issue. And it’s very hard for a young player to catch up. Same with R.J. Roderick. He missed six or eight days with a different issue as far as illness and things are concerned. When a young player misses that much camp, it’s really, really hard to catch them up. We’re trying to.”

With Dickerson, the issue goes back a little farther than that.

What prevented him from making good on that 2017 promise was a shoulder injury that ended his season before it started and forced him to redshirt. He was limited all spring, and then he missed time in August.

The 6-foot-1, 192-pound safety got time at the end of the team’s blowout win against Coastal Carolina, but was limited to special teams against Georgia.

Muschamp explained once camp ends, there’s another barrier to a player getting back in the rotation.

“Right now, we’re not into teaching middle-field concepts,” Muschamp said. “We’re into teaching game plans. And it’s very difficult right now to get those guys ready when they miss that much time.”

In short, there’s not much time for players to catch up on fundamentals this time of year.

Muschamp spoke brusquely of the safety position, where the play hasn’t been up to his standards in the first two weeks. USC is primarily playing J.T. Ibe and Steven Montac as starters, with Jamyest Williams and Nick Harvey as the top reserves.

Roderick is still adapting to safety after playing quarterback most of his high school career. He’s been used mostly on special teams.

“They’re both really good, young, talented players and they’re going to be good players,” Muschamp said. “But when you miss that much time, especially for a young player that’s not played on Saturday, it’s very difficult to catch up. We’re doing the best we can and they’re doing the best they can.”

This story was originally published September 18, 2018 at 5:36 PM.