Down another defensive back, a familiar concern looms for South Carolina

That South Carolina safety Jonathan Gipson left the team as a transfer last week didn’t exactly surprise.

He was a true freshman, but in a season in which the Gamecocks secondary was cut to pieces by injuries, he couldn’t even get snaps ahead of two walk-ons in a season-ending blowout of Akron and it took a few more injuries to get him time in the Belk Bowl. That type of player doesn’t always leave, but it often happens.

And it possibly leaves the Gamecocks in a familiar situation.

Through Will Muschamp’s first three years at South Carolina, scarcity has been the norm when it comes to the defensive backfield. At the moment, the Gamecocks have seven non-freshman scholarship defensive backs on the roster. More often than not, they’ll play five at a time, which could again mean relying on a small group of players at those spots (they also lost 35 defensive back starts to graduation).

The trio of Jaycee Horn, Israel Mukuamu and R.J. Roderick are sure to be anchors of the group. Jamyest Williams and J.T. Ibe project as starters, but both have been injury prone and inconsistent.

Jaylin Dickerson managed 64 so-so snaps across three games, but hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Jamel Cook has talent, but likewise has almost no experience in real game action.

If history is any indication, getting a full rotation from that group of four safeties might be asking a lot.

The freshmen will likely help, with four-star Cam Smith, talented corner John Dixon, safety/nickel Jammie Robinson and Shilo Sanders, son of Deion Sanders. But although the Gamecocks have always gotten a first-year player or two in a major role, a few freshmen don’t contribute right away.

So South Carolina projects to head into 2019 with 11 scholarship defensive backs, after having 12 in 2016 (after losing Rico McWilliams in camp and adding Steven Montac late), 12 in 2017 (plus Javon Charleston who got a scholarship) and 13 available early in 2018.

In each of those years, the Gamecocks hoped to go a little deeper in the defensive back rotation and ended up heavily reliant on a top five or six.

2016: The Gamecocks were rolling a few different bodies at nickel without great results. They ended up playing their starters nearly every snap of games down the stretch (it didn’t help they had limited options against good three-receiver sets).

2017: After Montac was injured in the opener, USC didn’t have six defensive backs take snaps until the start of October. Even then, they only played their top six except for blowout situations and the occasional injury or lost helmet, usually relying on the top three or four (four players were on the field for 85 percent of more of the defensive snaps, three for 91 percent or more).

2018: This seemed like a season when the Gamecocks could finally have some depth, as nine players who would go on to hold rotation roles saw the field in the opener. But injuries made a mess of things. But the end of the Clemson game, the team was down six DBs, primarily at safety. In the bowl, running back A.J. Turner got 28 snaps at corner.

The question becomes, can USC this season avoid having to ride its top horses? Horn and Mukuamu will likely start on the outside. Roderick will almost assuredly start somewhere.

Muschamp and his defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson have long said they’d like to have competition, to have players battling and scrapping for snaps, trading off drives if possible.

Smith could create that situation at corner, but then it’s likely Horn or Mukuamu might go and patch up safety unless things break right there. There’s a chance things finally break right for some of these players and they stay on the field, but with another safety already gone and some lingering injury questions, the Gamecocks could be starting down a familiar situation.

This story was originally published May 27, 2019 at 9:32 PM.