South Carolina secondary hoping to build off ‘our only solid game’ of season
Through three games, the state of South Carolina football’s secondary is ... messy, to say the least.
With starting cornerback Israel Mukuamu hampered by a groin injury that’s kept him in and out of parts of every game so far and key reserve safety Jaylin Dickerson missing this past weekend for undisclosed reasons, coach Will Muschamp has had to play musical chairs a little bit with his remaining personnel.
“You got a lot of guys playing a lot of spots,” Muschamp said after USC beat Vanderbilt. “You got (junior R.J. Roderick) playing three positions: nickel, dime and safety. You got (sophomore) John Dixon playing nickel and corner and you got (redshirt freshman Cam Smith) playing corner. You got (junior Jaycee Horn) playing nickel and corner. You got (redshirt freshman Shiloh Sanders) playing different spots, and then we’re trying to get different matchups based on their personnel in man and in some zone situations, so there’s a lot going on with those guys.”
It’s all added up to an uneven season thus far for the DBs; while the Gamecocks rank in the SEC’s top five in rushing yards per game and per attempt, they sink to 10th in passing yards per attempt and 11th in completion percentage.
Against Vandy, things were better for the unit — true freshman QB Ken Seals threw for just 148 yards, while his backup Mike Wright threw a late interception. The USC defense also held the Commodores to just one conversion on 11 third downs, though it did give up a few explosive plays in the passing game.
“The first two games was not up to our standards, and we actually could have played a little bit better vs. Vandy, but you know, that was probably our only solid game,” Horn said. “I think they were like 1-for-11 or something on third down. So I think we played decent vs. Vandy. We just got to build on that and keep playing good.”
Muschamp said Tuesday that he thinks Mukuamu and Dickerson will be available when the Gamecocks play Auburn this Saturday. But should they still be missing, Sanders projected confidence that he and the rest of the position group’s youngster could handle the load.
“All the extra time that we had with COVID and all that, we’ve had a big opportunity to get everyone on the defense on the same page with the plays,” Sanders said. “So if we need to change something up like that, it’s seamless. So everybody’s ready to play.”
Still, there’s no denying the veteran experience both Mukuamu and Dickerson bring to the unit — or how their absence leaves the group scrambling a bit.
“Not having Izzy and Jaylin, it’s kind of frustrating just knowing the type of energy and stuff those guys bring into the secondary,” Horn said. “Izzy was primed for a big year, and he hasn’t really been able to get out there and play a full game. So it’s kind of frustrating, man, just knowing how close we are. And Jaylin also going through injuries year after year, and the first time he’s healthy, he’s out for different reasons. We’ve been struggling with that, but the good part of it is having guys playing more snaps.”
There have been hiccups; Smith was forced into action in the season opener against Tennessee and had a rough go of it, missing several plays and inadvertently touching a punt to cause a game-sealing turnover. All in all, Muschamp said Smith has responded well, as have his other young players at the position, though he noted they each can continue to improve.
“Other than the quarterback position, in our defense the corner position is probably the hardest position to play, because you’re going to be caught in a lot of one on one situations and you either make the play or you don’t make the play,” Muschamp said. “And there might be some hand contact down the field, the flag might be thrown, they might call pass interference on you, something like that. And it’s a very difficult position to play, but it’s also a position, you need to learn from your mistakes, and I think Cam has, and then continue to work on your craft, continue to come out to practice with the right mentality to improve and get better.”
Next game: South Carolina (1-2) vs Auburn (2-1)
When: Noon Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia
TV: ESPN
Line: Auburn by 3.5
