Hometown Gamecock defender among those in line to step up and replace injured starter
With South Carolina football missing starting linebacker Sherrod Greene for at least a month due to a hip injury, the Gamecocks have a hole to fill at a position where they enter the fall with little proven depth.
Into that gap, senior Damani Staley will step up as USC’s new starting Will (weakside) linebacker, coach Will Muschamp said Tuesday. Backing him up will be freshman Mo Kaba.
Staley had been the team’s backup at Mike (middle) linebacker behind veteran Ernest Jones, where he got most of his work in the preseason while Jones recovered from appendix surgery. The son of Gamecock great Duce Staley, he appeared in 28 games his first three seasons at USC, playing at a couple different linebacker spots and recording 53 tackles.
“Damani’s played Mike and Will since he’s been here, really. He had a great camp filling in for Ernest,” Muschamp said. “He played over 30 snaps (against Tennessee) and I thought he played well.”
Staley made a pair of tackles against the Volunteers, but he’ll have sizable shoes to fill — Greene recorded 73 tackles in 2018, second on the team. While that number dropped to 35 last year, he still made 6.5 tackles for loss, fourth on the squad. He has 24 career starts to his name
Staley starred locally at Ridge View High School. He has never started a game at South Carolina, but him securing the position against Florida could be crucial due to other injuries at the linebacker spot.
Redshirt sophomore Rosendo Louis Jr. is out for another few weeks after undergoing surgery on his quadriceps, while sophomore Jahmar Brown, expected to start at Dime linebacker, missed the season opener with a knee sprain and isn’t 100% certain to play this week.
That leaves Kaba, a freshman who was sidelined until July with a torn ACL he suffered in high school, and redshirt senior Spencer Eason-Riddle, a former walk-on who is also coming off a torn ACL, as the primary backups at linebacker.
At the Sam (strongside) linebacker spot, Brad Johnson impressed the coaching staff throughout training camp and through the first game. But he only recently transitioned to that spot from the defensive line, where he played end and Buck. And on Tuesday, Muschamp spoke more about getting him settled at that spot, not helping out at another new one.
“Brad’s really done a nice job for us rushing the passer situationally, playing the Sam linebacker,” Muschamp said. “I thought he played well, set some edges on the defense, did a nice job. So again, I think he’s going to improve. It’s a new position for him, there’s still some learning involved with that, but a guy that has given us a lot of pass rush in the past.”
NEXT USC FOOTBALL GAME
Who: South Carolina at Florida
When: Noon, Saturday
Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
TV: ESPN
