Defensive ends, outside linebackers or both? Gamecocks dive into new ‘edge’ position
“Defensive end” is an old-school term, South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White says. You won’t find it on this year’s roster.
The previous regime of the Will Muschamp era used a combination of Buck/Sam linebackers and defensive ends, but White has combined these into the 2021 roster’s “edge” position.
South Carolina’s edge group includes Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare, Jordan Burch, Jordan Strachan, Aaron Sterling, Hot Rod Fitten, Gilber Edmond and Tyreek Johnson.
Burch, Fitten and Edmond were listed at Buck/Sam in the last system. Enagbare, labeled a defensive lineman last year, lined up at Buck, while Sterling, Edmond and Johnson played a more traditional defensive end role. Strachan played outside linebacker at Georgia State before transferring to South Carolina this year.
Though it’s the first time the term “edge” has been used explicitly on USC’s roster, it’s far from a new concept. An edge defender is a hybrid between a defensive end and outside linebacker. Mike Peterson heads the edge rushers while he’s officially listed as defensive ends/outside linebackers coach.
“It gets straight to the point,” Peterson said. “You know where they’re lined up at. For those who don’t know football, I say, ‘Look on the edge, that’s one of my guys.’ ”
White, who played linebacker at N.C. State in the late 1990s, gave two Wolfpack alumni as examples of edge defenders. Think of Bradley Chubb, named an outside linebacker for the Denver Broncos at 6-foot-4, 275 pounds, or Mario Williams, drafted first overall by the Houston Texans in 2006 as a defensive end.
Their titles may have been different, but both Chubb and Williams had a knack for getting to the quarterback. Williams set the N.C. State all-time sack record before Chubb broke it in his final season.
Pressuring the quarterback is only part of what the edge defenders will be tasked with as South Carolina’s edge defenders. Enagbare’s sack numbers have never been astronomical — he has 10.5 in his career and peaked with six last year. Peterson stressed versatility will be key in White’s 4-2-5 scheme.
“I tell them all the time, you’ve got to earn the right to rush the pass,” Peterson said. “You’ve got to be able to play the run also. It’s the guy that’s able to do a number of things.”
Auburn is the only other SEC school that explicitly lists the edge position on its roster, though the Tigers haven’t done away with the defensive end term altogether like South Carolina.
The Gamecocks aren’t reinventing the wheel by putting “edge” on their roster, but White said it can have benefits on the recruiting trail.
When White tells prospects they’re going to be South Carolina’s edge defender, he said they know it means an outside linebacker that can “get dirty” like a defensive end.
“It’s a cool term,” Peterson said. “I like it. You can call it an outside linebacker, you can call it a defensive end, but both of those guys together are considered the edge guys.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
