One reason South Carolina moved four-star defender to a new spot: ‘He can tackle’
South Carolina defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson appreciates Jamel Cook.
But up until Wednesday, he didn’t have all that clear a picture of what he might have.
Cook, a Miami product who transferred from Southern Cal, couldn’t play last season, and Robinson admitted it’s hard for a player like that to fully prepare. Cook was playing corner and helping as a scout team receiver, and even with a good attitude, it can be hard to read too much into that.
“I really didn’t know what we had up until (Wednesday),” Robinson said. “He showed up a little bit (Wednesday). He did some nice things out there.”
But through it all, Cook showed something that gave Robinson faith.
“He’s trying,” Robinson said.
That matters for anyone, but especially so for a safety in South Carolina’s system. That player needs to know exactly what they’re doing, no matter the talent level.
And Cook has catching up to do after switching from corner following the 2018 season.
“It’s not easy to play safety at our place,” Robinson said. “It’s really not, it takes a lot. It takes a lot of extra work. Not just in the building when everybody else is learning it. It takes extra time, spending time with me, spending time with coach (Kyle) Krantz, spending time with some of our GAs. He’s doing that.”
If he can finish off that transition and maybe come close to matching the rankings that had him as a top-100 national recruit, it would give USC an answer at a position of need.
Cook stands at 6-foot-4. He added weight to get to 200-plus pounds, and after a semester at corner, Robinson said Cook might lack the hip flexibility to play on the outside. But he does bring some key skills that might help in the middle of the field.
“He’s a longer guy,” Robinson said. “He will tackle. He’s a physical guy, and he’s an intelligent guy.”
Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp echoed that praise of his length and athleticism, and that tackling factor could be a big one.
USC’s safety position became a black hole of sorts by year’s end in 2018. The team loaded up there before the season, with a veteran, two grad transfers and a former top-100 recruit. But in the bowl game, the Gamecocks were often relying on one true freshman who had hardly played defense in high school (R.J. Roderick) and another freshman whose only regular season action was late in an FCS blowout (Jonathan Gipson).
With that situation, the tackling was often an issue and USC’s defense fell from a solid 2017 to one of the more shoddy units in the SEC.
Coming into spring, it appears Roderick, who started the season’s final five games, is in place to be a fixture there. Cook will be battling the likes of Jamyest Williams, Jaylin Dickerson, J.T. Ibe, Gipson and perhaps some of the freshmen to try to build a functional rotation at that spot.
Cook has the talent and potential to help there, and maybe create some stability. But he’s still got to learn. Robinson explained sometimes when players are given the chance they step up.
Now Cook has his.
“We’re going to see him out there having some opportunities to makes some plays within the defense we’re trying to do,” Muschamp said.
