Damani Staley, son of Gamecocks legend, breaking out for South Carolina defense
It always has been hard for Damani Staley to escape the spotlight. Such is life when you share a last name with and are the son of legendary Gamecocks running back Duce Staley.
Yet for a player who’s largely reserved, quiet and sincere, the younger Staley has thrust himself into the public eye with his play this fall.
“He’s a guy that’s playing like a senior,” South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said Sunday. “He’s a guy that’s playing like an older guy and has maturity, and he’s gaining more and more confidence each week.”
Staley entered the year slotted as a second-team linebacker. He’d fill gaps when needed. He might factor in on special teams as he had in past years. All things considered, it’d be a relatively apropos ending to a career that had been solid but never overly spectacular.
But with Sherrod Greene out for the season after suffering a knee injury at Georgia, Staley has been thrust into a starting linebacker spot.
The younger Staley is quiet. His news conferences are subtle and subdued. He was slated to speak Wednesday but didn’t even appear.
Staley’s teammates joke he’s among the mellower players on the roster. Beamer quipped he barely says a word most days. Defensive tackle Zacch Pickens corroborated Beamer’s take on Staley.
“He’s really stepped up,” Pickens said. “When Sherrod Greene went down, he was the next man up. He took that role and ran with it and never looked back.”
Perhaps it’s appropriate that Staley, now in his fifth year with the program, has only spoken with reporters once this fall. He’s always worked away from the attention that comes with playing at the FBS level.
The former Ridge View standout had a largely productive career entering 2021. He’d notched 108 tackles in 38 appearances. He started eight of 10 games in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
This year, though, has been different.
It was Staley’s interception return for a touchdown that sparked South Carolina’s comeback at East Carolina. He added his second pick and a fumble recovery in the victory over Troy. Staley even added his first sack of the year when he crushed Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak on Saturday.
“Like coach always says, tips and overthrows, you gotta get those,” Staley said of his interception at ECU. “We take a lot of pride in it.”
South Carolina’s defense has had its moments this fall. It held Florida to just 82 yards rushing two weeks ago. It currently leads the Southeastern Conference in takeaways. It has also only allowed more than 260 pass yards once in a game this season.
On Saturday, gun-slinging signal-caller T.J. Finley comes to Columbia leading an Auburn offense that will be without starting quarterback Bo Nix for the rest of the season. Finley last appeared against USC when he was still at LSU, torching the Gamecocks defense on 17-of-21 passing for 265 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the Tigers’ 52-24 win in Baton Rouge.
Staley and the linebacking corps will also have their hands full with Auburn running back Tank Bigsby. The former South Carolina recruiting target ranks seventh in the SEC in rushing with just under 800 yards this season. Bigsby’s nine rushing touchdowns also are tied for sixth in the league.
For a unit that has struggled to stop the run, Staley’s play ought to factor in directly with how well Bigsby can find holes.
“Damani is definitely a cat who came out of his shell this year,” edge rusher Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare said on Tuesday. “He’s been more of a vocal leader and has been way more animated.”
“He came out of nowhere with how he’s playing,” Pickens added. “And I’m really happy for him.”
Staley, by all preseason accounts, was never expected to play 70 or more snaps in seven of the past eight games. Prior to Greene’s injury, he never appeared for more than 27 plays in a game, per Pro Football Focus. But now having earned a slot in the center of South Carolina’s defense, the son of a Gamecock legend is forging his own path.
Damani Staley has avoided the limelight as long as he could. Now it’s finding him.
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 7:40 AM.
