Why has USC’s defense struggled so much this season? The solution might be simple
There’s a philosophical question that goes along with what South Carolina’s defense did Saturday.
If what you’re doing isn’t working, do you change it up or trust the process and keep trucking along?
“That’s a good question,” South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White said. “What you’re saying is basically, if the pressure isn’t getting there on time then, to me, you can’t ask the (defensive back) to cover for so long. You want the pressure to get there. Yes you do. But If the pressures aren’t getting there, you try to back off and you try to add another guy in coverage.
“But it definitely affects how you call a game,” White said. “But you have to feel that in the moment of the game, not after the game on Sunday morning.”
During its 41-39 loss to Florida last weekend, South Carolina tried to do everything in its power to disrupt Gators quarterback Graham Mertz. White and head coach Shane Beamer let the dogs loose.
“We brought pressure last night on over 30 of our snaps,” Beamer said Sunday.
Problem was: Mertz was hardly affected. Though the Gamecocks notched four sacks and four additional tackles for loss, Mertz often threw right into the blitz — knowing one of his guys had to be open.
He completed 62% of his throws for over 400 yards. Receiver Ricky Pearsall tore up the Gamecocks secondary to the tune of 166 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown.
It is easy to blame the secondary. How could you not? Those Florida receivers had to make the catch on someone. They had to get a step on someone. On players like Nick Emmanwori, O’Donnell Fortune and Jalon Kilgore.
And it would be easy to overlook Saturday if it was a one-off. But the season-long numbers are wash-your-eyes-with-soap bad.
After six games, no defense in America gives up more passing yards than the Gamecocks (321 yards per game). Just slightly better is South Carolina’s defense in total yards (121st in the nation), fourth-down conversions (T-119), tackles for loss (T-114) and points allowed (T-105).
“For you guys and everybody to point to the secondary,” Beamer said, “when we’re bringing six people or we’re bringing seven people — you know, you can’t cover all day. We have to be able to get there and get the quarterback to help those defensive backs out.”
The obvious question was the one posed to White: Why keep sending pressure if it’s not getting home?
Part of the reason, based on White’s answer, seems to be trust. He believes in his scheme, believes his defensive linemen were oh-so close to getting to Mertz.
“When we call pressures, we have to be aggressive and have a mentality to get there. You have to win,” Beamer said. “And we have to be smart about when we’re calling them. … In those 86 (defensive) plays, I think 40 of them we played man coverage. Man coverage with a safety in the middle or zero-blitz coverage, meaning there is no help.”
“We call that much man coverage,” Beamer added, “because we have great confidence in our defensive backs.”
The other piece is that there isn’t a barnyard full of great, game-ready safeties and corners sitting on the sideline. According to GamecockCentral, five DBs — Marcellas Dial (86), DQ Smith (86), Fortune (84), Emmanwori (80) and Kilgore (70) — accounted for almost every snap in the secondary.
That shows the Gamecocks don’t not have a ton of options — at least, not options the coaches trust.
“It’s a challenge,” Beamer said. “We have to continue to develop depth and get those guys out there.”
For two weeks now, Beamer has been very vocal that he needs to play more underclassmen. That’s an easy thing to say on Sunday or Monday. It is much harder to follow through on a Saturday afternoon when the bullets are flying and one misstep by an inexperienced defensive back can turn into a 60-yard score.
The solution Beamer and White offered to cure the defensive woes is simple. Perhaps too simple. To them, it all comes down to effort. Not scheme. Not necessarily technique. Just pure willpower.
“The mentality that if we call a pressure, we’ve got to go,” Beamer said. “We need to feel them when Clayton calls a pressure.”
“Sometimes you hesitate because of things you see, play-action and things like that,” defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway said. “Sometimes you don’t need to hesitate. Just keep going.”
South Carolina game this weekend
Who: South Carolina (2-4, 1-3 SEC) at No. 20 Missouri (6-1, 2-1 SEC)
Where: Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
TV: SEC Network
Stream: via the ESPN app
This story was originally published October 19, 2023 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Why has USC’s defense struggled so much this season? The solution might be simple."