The thin state of South Carolina’s secondary and how it got there
Against Tennessee, South Carolina’s football team played only five defensive backs.
It was the same way against Florida. The same was true of the Georgia game ... and Kentucky.
One has to go back to the Missouri game, halfway through the games played thus far, to find the Gamecocks playing a sixth player in the defensive backfield. They played two that game, freshman John Dixon sparingly and Jamyest Williams, who departed as a transfer a few days later.
USC coach Will Muschamp’s specialty is the secondary, and the same can be said for his defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson. But at the moment, South Carolina is sitting at eight scholarship defensive backs who started their career on that side of the ball.
Five are playing at a position where the team often plays five at a time.
Jaycee Horn is a strong SEC corner in his second season. Israel Mukuamu is tall and talented, but has been up and down. Young players Jammie Robinson and R.J. Roderick have showed promise, while former graduate transfer J.T. Ibe is having his share of struggles this year.
Freshmen in Dixon, Cam Smith and Shilo Sanders are on the roster and some are playing special teams. Muschamp said he doesn’t plan to shift around the personnel too much.
“There’s no question, schematically, you’ve got to go back and revisit some things,” Muschamp said. “But I think we’re playing our best players right now.”
So how did this happen? A mix of attrition and recruiting misses. It’s worth a look at the history.
2016 class
Jamarcus King: Started for most of two years. Had his share of issues, but also held down the spot consistently.
Steven Montac: A late junior college add to the class. Started 20 of his 33 games across three seasons. Helped a thin group hold on in 2016, played a rotation role when healthy the next year and had his share of struggles as a senior.
Chris Smith: A Spurrier commit who eventually left the team as a medical disqualification.
(Wide receiver Korey Banks eventually converted to defensive back, playing in four games mostly as a special-teamer in 2018 before transferring.)
2017 class
Jamyest Williams: Started or played in the rotation when healthy across three seasons. Left as a transfer in the middle of this season.
Keisean Nixon: Enrolled late and didn’t play his first season. Started his second and was a consistent presence with inconsistent play. Has played six games as an NFL rookie special-teamer.
Kaleb Chalmers: A JUCO product who spent one year on campus, didn’t play and then transferred out.
Jaylin Dickerson: Played in 10 games last season, mostly special teams with a little work at safety. Miss 2016, the final three games of 2017 and all of 2018 with injuries.
Tavyn Jackson: Redshirted because of a hamstring issue as a freshman. Was later medically disqualified because of a sickle cell trait. Eventually left as a transfer to try to play again but does not appear to have done so.
Zay Brown: Moved to linebacker and transferred to Chattanooga last offseason.
2018 class
Jaycee Horn: Starting and was a freshman All-American.
Jonathan Gipson: Transferred away this offseason.
Israel Mukuamu: Starting at corner.
R.J. Roderick: Starting at safety.
Grad transfer Nick Harvey: Played in four games in an injury-plagued season. Transferred to North Texas.
Grad transfer J.T. Ibe: Starting currently.
Transfer Jamel Cook: Sat out 2018. Playing in garbage time against an FCS opponent this year. Kicked off the team following a domestic violence arrest.
(Wide receiver Darius Rush moved to corner in the offseason and is currently playing special teams.)
2019 class
Jammie Robinson: Starting as a true freshman.
John Dixon: Started the season opener. Has not played a defensive snap the past four games.
Shilo Sanders: Special-teamer who has played in four games.
Cam Smith: Played in garbage time against Charleston Southern.
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So out of 20 defensive backs the Gamecocks have landed across four classes, 11 have played minimally (including this year’s three freshmen). Eight have either transferred or not finished their eligibility, though Chris Smith was a holdover from the previous regime.
After his first season, the Gamecocks got a boost from 36 starts in the defensive backfield from Steve Spurrier holdovers such as Rashad Fenton, Chris Lammons and D.J. Smith..
That reality and attrition leave the Gamecocks short on bodies. The coaches like to say competition is their best friend, but after a rough outing such as Saturday’s against Tennessee (11.7 yards per pass attempt allowed), South Carolina doesn’t have much in the way of changes it can make.
This story was originally published October 29, 2019 at 8:25 AM.
