How Gamecocks defense is overperforming ahead of South Carolina-Clemson game
South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White sighed.
He smirked before diving into an answer, but there was an underlying annoyance in his voice. Earlier that week, safety Jahmar Brown proclaimed no offense in the Southeastern Conference would figure out this year’s Gamecocks defense.
White needed to set the record straight.
“First of all, what Jahmar said is ridiculous,” White quipped. “He’s out here putting a target on my back.”
Whether Brown actually thought his words would come to fruition is a different matter. But matching up with a Clemson offense that seems to be hitting its stride this weekend in Columbia, it’s South Carolina’s stingy defense that can turn the tide of Saturday’s contest.
“We’ve taken some steps,” White said. “I feel like some guys, the coaching staff, we’ve all we’ve taken strides. We’ve grown closer together as a group. We want to just continue to (succeed) at the end of games.”
That White tempered expectations was fair. Losing a first-round pick in Jaycee Horn and running mate Israel Mukuamu made piecing this year’s defense together hard enough. Adding unnecessary expectations in a throwaway press conference in August didn’t help the cause.
But Brown was right.
Through 11 games, White’s unit ranks first in the SEC in takeaways, third in pass defense and sixth in scoring and total defense. That comes off a year in which the Gamecocks surrendered 38 or more points five different times.
Head coach Shane Beamer told reporters Sunday there were pieces he liked about the squad he inherited despite the Gamecocks having won just six games over the past two years combined. That list started with the defensive line — which Beamer felt could be elite.
South Carolina’s front-four has been just that. Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare is tied for first in the SEC in solo tackles by a defensive lineman with 26 stops on the year. Former five-star recruit Zacch Pickens has been equally disruptive on the interior with his 32 tackles, while Aaron Sterling has come on strong opposite Enagbare.
That’s not to mention the play of defensive tackle Jabari Ellis — whose scoop and score effectively ended the Florida win — or Georgia State transfer Jordan Strachan.
“If we could just hang in there and get games to the fourth quarter, we’d have an opportunity to win games,” Beamer said of why he thought USC could get bowl-eligible in his first season. “And you’ve seen that with games that we’ve won in the fourth quarter.”
Beyond the defensive line, South Carolina looked to have pieced together its secondary with more duct tape than steel entering the fall. Instead, the Gamecocks have turned into one of the league’s best units against the pass.
Safety Jaylan Foster — who choked up as he spoke with reporters on Wednesday — has transformed from a one-time Gardner-Webb signee who later walked on at South Carolina into a legitimate All-America candidate.
Cam Smith played opposite Horn last year, but has since turned into a true shutdown corner and leads the team with nine pass breakups this season.
“It’s been a great experience coming back and being a foundation for a new coaching staff and turning the program around,” Foster said. “That’s the thing I’ve enjoyed the most about it is just being a foundation of the program.”
South Carolina has its work cut out for it Saturday against a Clemson offense that has come on strong of late. The Tigers have rushed for at least 189 yards in each of their last four games. They also exploded for 543 yards against a Wake Forest team that was previously ranked in the top 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 earlier this fall.
That doesn’t totally excuse Clemson’s offensive issues this year. Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei hasn’t thrown for more than 250 yards in a single game this year and his 55.1% completion percentage ranks second-worst in the Atlantic Coast Conference among eligible passers.
Facing a similarly strong-armed, big-bodied quarterback in Auburn signal-caller T.J. Finley a week ago, the South Carolina defense stifled the one-time LSU transfer. Finley finished the night a meager 17 of 32 for 188 yards and one touchdown.
Given his comparable size and skill set to Uiagalelei, the Gamecocks feel their approach from a week ago could translate.
“Our guys in practice understand they have to cover longer downfield and also when you have an opportunity to sack them in the box you have to finish those tackles,” White said.
White played off Brown’s comments in August as just preseason excitement. Now 11 games into the season and ranking among the SEC’s best, the third-year safety wasn’t too far off on his prognostication.
One more stout performance against Clemson on Saturday and White may have no choice but to smile.
This story was originally published November 24, 2021 at 5:39 PM.
