South Carolina defense looking to rise up again in 2022. These players can help
South Carolina’s 2021 season brought plenty of surprises, but its defense might’ve been the biggest.
The Gamecocks were reeling off a 2-8 campaign during a COVID-shortened 2020. The losses of Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu to the NFL left the cupboard seemingly bare.
Despite that, first-year defensive coordinator Clayton White’s unit outperformed just about every preseason prognostication in leading the Southeastern Conference in passing defense and takeaways.
These Gamecocks will be crucial to replicating that success in 2022:
Zacch Pickens, DT
Zacch Pickens is coming off his best campaign since signing with South Carolina as a five-star recruit in the 2019 class. Pickens finished the year with 38 stops — good for the second-best mark on the team among defensive linemen, behind only Jabari Ellis.
The Gamecocks had their issues against the run last season, and it’ll fall on Pickens and running mate Alex “Boogie” Huntley to slow things on the interior.
Pickens considered leaving early for the NFL Draft last year. He instead opted for one more season in Columbia. The ex-T.L. Hanna High standout has largely lived up to his immense recruiting hype, but one more dominant campaign could be what takes his career to the next level.
Don’t be surprised if he ends up sneaking into the first round of the 2023 draft if he puts up even bigger numbers this fall.
Cam Smith, CB
Most South Carolina fans would like to forget the 2020 season ever happened. Go back and re-watch those games, though, and Cam Smith is absolutely all over the field.
Then just a redshirt freshman, Smith had his moments getting beat downfield in coverage. That said, he was in position to make a play on the ball or a receiver more often than not.
Smith looked the part of a dominant lock-down cornerback in 2021, and he’ll be expected to do much of the same this year. Beamer and White are giddy about the versatility the former Westwood High standout brings as both a cornerback and a nickel. He’s repped at both spots during the portions of fall camp open to reporters, and that should carry into the season.
Given that positional flexibility, Smith has the makings of an absolute menace for opposing quarterbacks.
Smith also has about as much preseason NFL Draft hype as any player on South Carolina’s roster. He’ll be the leader of the secondary and should rank among the best defensive backs in all of college football this fall.
Devonni Reed, safety
Devonni Reed is perhaps the most unheralded of the names on this list, but he’s filling as big a vacated spot as there is from last year’s squad.
The Central Michigan transfer will be tasked with replacing 2021 All-American Jaylan Foster, who exploded from walk-on to superstar during his final season at South Carolina in 2021.
Reed has been highly productive at the college level already — recording just under 300 tackles during his four years with the Chippewas. He was named a second-team All-MAC performer last season and earned third-team honors the year before from the league’s coaches.
The Gamecocks have plenty of experience next to Reed in sixth-year senior R.J. Roderick. Freshman Nick Emmanwori and Tyrese Ross should both see plenty of time as depth pieces, too.
However, South Carolina needs stability out of Reed. If he can give the Gamecocks that much, the secondary can take another step toward being one of the SEC’s best units in 2022.
This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 1:14 PM.
