Zacch Pickens is turning a corner. So is South Carolina’s defense
Zacch Pickens returned to South Carolina on a mission — one that may or may not have involved the state fair.
Pickens said Tuesday he spent a recent afternoon at the annual festival that’s jam-packed with carnival rides and greasy delicacies and draws tens of thousands from around the Palmetto State. One particular game involving knocking a trio of blocks off a table with a ball caught his and his teammates’ attention.
The prize if he could do it? A new electric scooter.
“We told the lady we were coming right back,” Pickens said, sighing. “We didn’t come back. I wasn’t coming back. I gave her all my money.”
That carnival game might be about the only negative thing that’s happened to the former T.L. Hanna High standout during what should be his final year as a Gamecock after spurning the NFL Draft a season ago.
He’s fourth on the team in total tackles — a stat largely reserved for linebackers and safeties. Pickens also ranks tied for fifth in the Southeastern Conference in quarterback hurries and tied for seventh in total pressures, per Pro Football Focus.
That’s all amounted to a South Carolina defense that slogged through the first three weeks of the season and then found its stride in recent weeks.
“In team meetings, he sits right in the front row, right here to my left when I’m talking,” head coach Shane Beamer said Tuesday in reference to Pickens’ presence within the operations building. “... I feel like a meeting’s going well if I see him over there kind of nodding his head. And if there’s not much reaction I’m like, ‘Oh crap, maybe I’m not being very good this morning.’ ”
South Carolina’s defense has started to turn a corner of late, or at least given the perception of such. USC has held its last three opponents — Charlotte, S.C. State and Kentucky — to 145 yards or less on the ground. Only Charlotte passed for more than 200 yards (213) in that span.
Most recently, the Gamecocks stymied All-SEC caliber tailback Chris Rodriguez and a Kentucky run game that had been dominant over its first five games. Rodriguez finished with 126 yards on 22 carries, but only four of those went for 10 or more yards. The other 18 touches he received accounted for just 3.5 yards per rush.
Pickens has been a key cog in that defensive resurgence as the Gamecocks worked to mitigate the losses of linebacker Mo Kaba and defensive end Jordan Strachan to season-ending injuries Week 2 at Arkansas. The former five-star recruit set season highs in quarterback pressures (3) and total hurries (5) against Kentucky last week. His three highest defensive grades on PFF’s 100-point scale have come over the last three weeks.
“I care a lot, especially when it comes to this team,” Pickens said of how he’s become a more vocal leader of late. “... Our team is really good and we get pushed over, and people overlook us because maybe we don’t win a game we should, and that’s on us. And now I’m starting to show them that we can do more. If I show I care, then everybody sees that and it just keeps rolling.”
Beamer heads into this week’s matchup with Texas A&M a perfect 5-0 when afforded extra preparation time, i.e. bye weeks, bowl games, season openers, etc. The Aggies have floundered through the 2022 season, narrowly losing to Alabama in a game that came down to the final play just two weeks after dropping a buy-game to Appalachian State.
Tailback Devon Achane ought to be the focal point of Pickens and the South Carolina defense. Sans do-it-all playmaker Anias Smith, Achane has become the lead figure for an Aggie offense that could match 2021 USC levels of anemic.
Achane currently ranks sixth in the SEC in rushing, while his 88 yards per game are good for fourth-best in the league. He’s also turning in that season on just 16.17 touches per game.
“With him getting most of the carries this season, I think he’s our main focus in stopping that run,” defensive tackle M.J. Webb said.
South Carolina’s history — or lack thereof — against Texas A&M is well-documented. The Gamecocks are 0-8 all-time against their annual cross-division opponent, including being outscored by the Aggies 122-23 the last three meetings.
But with Texas A&M reeling and South Carolina suddenly riding the high of a three-game win streak, it might be the first time in a decade the teams have met on equal playing terms.
“For me, this is a big game,” Pickens said. “Because, man, I’ve been here for four years and I’ve never came close (to beating A&M). And I feel like this is finally our year where we can finally get close to them.”
That’s a prize worth returning for.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 8:50 AM.
