The new Jaycee Horn of USC’s defense? Cam Smith ready to lead the secondary in 2021
Jaycee Horn’s departure has left a big hole in South Carolina’s secondary. Cam Smith is ready to pick up the baton.
Talking to reporters Tuesday for the first time this spring, the redshirt sophomore defensive back was confident he has what it takes to be the Gamecocks’ top cover guy to replace Horn, who declared for the NFL Draft and is expected to be a first-round selection later this month.
Smith said playing alongside Horn and Israel Mukuamu, who also is expected to be taken in the 2021 NFL Draft, has given him the blueprint of what it takes to be successful.
“Right now, I am a starting corner and I feel like I could be the Jaycee of the defense,” Smith said. “I am going to lock down one side, and there will be no ifs, ands or buts about it.
“... I came into the spring feeling like Cam, feeling like me. There is no hesitation. I was playing free and playing like my old self. With me coming out and having that older swagger about myself, I don’t feel like there is nobody else that can beat me.”
Smith last season lacked a little of that swagger and confidence like he had coming out of Westwood High School. He was slowed a bit by an ankle injury. He missed two games earlier in the year and ended up starting three games by the end of 2020.
Smith said he is 100% healthy and that he even put five pounds on to his slender 185-pound frame. His production is going to be key for an inexperienced secondary. Smith, R.J. Roderick and Jaylan Foster are the only defensive backs on the roster who have started a game at South Carolina.
In addition to the Horn and Mukuamu departures, Jammie Robinson, Shilo Sanders and John Dixon also transferred shortly after Shane Beamer was hired as head coach.
Smith also entertained thoughts of leaving. But after talking with Beamer, defensive coordinator Clayton White and defensive backs coach Torrian Gray, he felt that staying at USC was the best decision for him and gave him the chance to shine close to home.
“I was a little hesitant at first; anyone would be in that situation,” Smith said. “But just listening to what they are saying and buying in. They aren’t just saying it. They are showing it through actions and everything we do. There is no false advertisement or none of that.”
Smith has taken a liking to USC’s new 4-2-5 defense, which he says lets players move around and be more free. He also has welcomed Gray’s style as defensive back coach, which can be tough at times.
“He has been hard on me, hard on Dominick (Hill), OD (Fortune) because he knows we got the talent and tools to be a great defense in the SEC,” Smith said.
