How South Carolina plans to get ‘a little bit more meat out there’ to slow Kentucky

The spot is an old one for South Carolina football’s Keir Thomas. A little new this year, but then again new in its own way.

And the reason he’s there, and will likely be there again Saturday evening against Kentucky in Lexington, is a simple one.

“Set the edge a little bit,” Thomas said. “A little bit more meat out there.”

The junior, who spent the start of USC’s season as one of the team’s top two defensive tackles, was back outside at end for much of the game against Vanderbilt. His 276-pound frame gives a different look than Aaron Sterling’s (245 pounds).

He made a few plays against Vanderbilt’s power-running offense, which was heavy on downhill running and extra tight ends. And he had another impact his coach was pleased with.

“I think playing Keir at the end more really helped us a little bit more with our rotation,” USC coach Will Muschamp said. “We got a guy with a little more girth, a little more punch on the edge because we really got hurt on our last ballgame before that on the edges.”

That was the loss to Georgia, in which a team without D.J. Wonnum let up 271 rushing yards.

The move isn’t much of a surprise for Thomas, who has been switching between the spots much of his career. He was a defensive end in high school, and then got thrown into the fire as an undersized, 265-pound freshman tackle.

He played end for much of last year, and then transitioned inside alongside Javon Kinlaw this season.

“It’s not that much of a difference,” Thomas said. “I played it a lot last year, so I just had to get my feet wet at practice a little bit earlier last week. I felt good.”

His strength, along with the rest of USC’s defensive front, will be tested, and tested in several ways. The Wildcats boast one of the top downhill rushing offenses in the country, led by power tailback Benny Snell and mobile quarterback Terry Wilson.

Usually against power run teams, the Gamecocks shift from a nickel offense to a 4-3 (four linemen, three linebackers). That’s mostly done by moving Bryson Allen-Williams from end to linebacker and adding another lineman.

Without D.J. Wonnum in the lineup, it usually means putting 246-pound Daniel Fennell in for cornerback Jaycee Horn (195) pounds.

The issue there is the Wildcats often get their running game going with a third receiver on the field. What’s more, Kentucky’s slot receiver Lynn Bowden is one of the more explosive playmakers in the SEC who has caught 20 of the 23 passes thrown his way.

So the Gamecocks will have some decisions to make on that front.

“We’ve got to switch it up,” Allen-Williams said. “(The Wildcats) do a lot of good things as far as getting the ball on the perimeter. That’s coach Muschamp and coach (Travaris Robinson’s) decision.

“Wherever they put me at, I’m going to play.”

This story was originally published September 28, 2018 at 8:29 PM.