What’s next for South Carolina’s secondary after Jamyest Williams transfer?

With the news breaking Monday night and confirmed Tuesday that South Carolina football’s Jamyest Williams was entering the transfer portal, coach Will Muschamp’s secondary depth has taken a hit.

Through four games, a rotation of seven players had mostly covered five spots (two cornerbacks, two safeties, one nickelback) — Williams, senior J.T. Ibe, freshmen Jammie Robinson and John Dixon and sophomores Jaycee Horn, Israel Mukuamu and R.J. Roderick.

Now Williams, the team’s fifth-leading tackler, is gone, and the defensive back situation isn’t quite as dire as it got towards the end of 2018, but it’s still pretty thin. Behind the six players left from the above group, redshirt junior Jamel Cook has seemingly failed to develop into the consistent contributor Muschamp wanted, senior A.J. Turner has only played special teams since changing positions from running back to corner, and freshmen Shilo Sanders and Cam Smith haven’t played an FBS opponent yet.

At one point Tuesday, Muschamp said he didn’t expect Williams’ departure to give the guys who haven’t played much more of an opportunity.

“The guys that have been playing, we’ll just continue to roll with the guys we’re playing,” he said.

At another, though, he hinted at several players who could see their role increase in the coming weeks.

“Cam Smith has emerged, has come on. I thought he had a really good day this morning. You know, A.J. has gotten healthy, so he’s another guy that’s going to be back in the fold at the corner position. ... It’s always been about putting the best four, the best five and the best six guys out there,” Muschamp said.

Smith was actually the highest-rated defensive back recruit in the freshman class but wasn’t on campus for spring practice. Turner was listed as the primary backup for both corner positions at the beginning of the season. Their emergence may have earned them more playing time regardless of Williams’ transfer, but now that it’s happened, they’ll likely play crucial roles even if they’re not in the starting lineup.

“Just going out there and doing the same work we do,” Horn said of the secondary’s mentality moving forward, “There’s one man down, next man up and that’s the mentality we have.”

And among the players already seeing regular snaps, roles may shift as well. Mukuamu was seen as a potential safety in high school thanks to his 6-foot-4 frame but played corner all of last year, establishing himself as a talented prospect at that position. With the lack of quality depth coming into the season already, though, he spent time at safety and even played there against North Carolina and Charleston Southern. He’ll continue to get reps back there moving forward, Muschamp said.

All in all, depth across the defense proved to be crucial this past Saturday against Missouri. Muschamp cited fatigue as one of the main reasons USC’s defense gave up costly conversions in the second half — Mizzou dominated time of possession and Carolina eventually broke down.

This Saturday’s opponent, Kentucky, averages 71.5 plays per game to Missouri’s 80, and South Carolina then has a bye week to rest and prepare for the back half of its schedule. Even still, having capable backups and starters capable of staying on the field for long stretches will be key as the Gamecocks prepare for passing attacks like Clemson, Texas A&M and Florida. So how do they stay fresh?

“Just try to stay in the cold tub, try to get a lot of rehab and just come ready to play,” Horn said.