What was the issue for Sherrod Greene last season? How he aims to fix it
South Carolina linebacker Sherrod Greene was asked to step into some big shoes last season.
He took over the job held by years for Skai Moore. The linebacker depth atrophied behind him. He came to college as a bit of a thumper, but was being asked to cover more ground at the team’s coverage-heavy weakside linebacker spot.
But he also found himself as seemingly the focal point of some angst from South Carolina fans. The Gamecocks run defense wasn’t good, and he often found himself in the center of things, the player they saw struggling to close down on plays.
His coach, Will Muschamp, neither dodged questions about it nor sugarcoated it. There was an evident reason talent didn’t translate into better play.
“We were inconsistent,” Muschamp said. “And I think he’d be the first person to tell you that. He’s a very talented young man, and I think he had a great spring. He’s just got to continue to be, that’s the hard part with young players. Young players have a hard time, day-in, day-out, the grind that you go through, the strain that you have to go through to be a really, really good football player.”
Greene’s number were solid — 73 tackles, three for loss, an interception, two pass breakups, a hurry and a forced fumble. But with a smaller defensive line in front of him, the Gamecocks came apart against the run.
The 4.6 yards per carry ranked 85th nationally. And that doesn’t even quite tell the story because South Carolina was above average in preventing long runs. More than 53 percent of opponents’ runs went for 5 or more yards.
Greene said last season he was still in the middle of the learning curve for the pass responsibilities of the position. He’d played strong side and middle linebacker his first season.
But his offseason focus was something simple.
“Just trusting my abilities,” Greene said. “Boost my confidence and actually having trust in what I can do to help my team win games. Just fitting runs better, memorize the plays, being a better leader for this team.”
Greene came to USC from a high school conference loaded with run-heavy teams. He had the ability to go sideline to sideline, but it wasn’t often asked of him (he led his team to back-to-back state title games).
He was a sophomore first-time starter, taking over for an all-time player. The team returns basically every linebacker and adds a few more, but there’s no clear player gunning for that spot.
In the coach’s mind, the jump isn’t too far. Clean up those questions of consistency, deliver on the talent he has, and Greene could still have a bright future anchoring USC’s defense.
“All young players struggle with that,” Muschamp said. “Some more than others. I think there were some bright spots and I think there were some places that we certainly could’ve improved and gotten better, and I saw a lot of improvement this spring. So I’m excited about him in training camp.”