Two Gamecocks aim to build on their best game of the season

South Carolina football had some ups and downs in its last game, a tight loss to a talented Texas A&M team.

But Will Muschamp singled out a pair of his players for praise.

Linebackers T.J. Brunson and Sherrod Greene took on a big role in trying to corral power tailback Trayveon Williams and mobile quarterback Kellen Mond. The pair of runners combined for 3.2 yards per carry.

And South Carolina’s duo came away with some plaudits.

“I thought that was their best game,” Muschamp said. “(They were) very productive, very active, tackled well, leveraged the ball well, didn’t misfit some runs.”

Greene was all over the place, making 12 tackles. Brunson added five.

This season hasn’t been the most kind to South Carolina at that position. The team lost veteran Skai Moore, moving Brunson into the role of elder statesman. Greene was stepping in, a former thumper trying to replace Moore, a maestro in coverage.

There have been some challenging days, including big opponent rushing days against Kentucky, Georgia and Missouri. They’ve had some youth in front of them, and inconsistency in the secondary behind them.

But the pair entered South Carolina’s bye week on a high note, and Saturday will be tasked with trying to control Tennessee’s downhill rushing attack.

Muschamp said he identified the root cause of the good day, and was looking for a repeat performance.

“I think they had a great week of practice. I told both of them on Friday as we were going through the walkthrough, ‘both of you guys had your best week of preparation in my opinion this year,’ and both carried it over to game day. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I think that’s the way it’s supposed to happen.”