Practice report: Chaz Elder ‘a better fit for corner’
Chaz Elder came to South Carolina planning to play cornerback. Four years later, he finally is.
Elder, who was a four-star recruit at cornerback in Union City, Ga., in 2011, spent one season at cornerback while redshirting with the Gamecocks in 2012. He was moved to safety before the following season and has started nine games there since.
Now, the 6-foot-2, 209-pound junior is back on the edge and hoping it leads to more playing time.
“At first it was surprising. It happened right before camp,” Elder said. “It’s coming out good as I get more comfortable at it.”
Elder was beginning to lose ground in South Carolina’s safety rotation and fell one more rung down the ladder when Isaiah Johnson transferred from Kansas. At cornerback, he joins a less crowded field but still will have to contend with Chris Lammons, Rico McWilliams, Al Harris Jr. and Jamari Smith for playing time.
“They said they thought I’d be a better fit for corner,” Elder said.
Balanced attack. The Gamecocks’ youth at quarterback and wide receiver doesn’t have head coach Steve Spurrier thinking about focusing on the ground game, at least not yet.
“If we get in the game and hit two of the first 15 (passes) then we might switch gears, (but) we hope to be balanced, and we hope to give our receivers an opportunity to contribute,” Spurrier said.
He doesn’t plan on abandoning the run game either, he said.
“My old offense, I haven’t played in a long time,” he said. “We don’t come to the ballpark filling the air with passes the way that I used to back in the Florida days because we had receivers and an offensive line and if we threw three incomplete, we might be out there three plays later. (Now) we need to stay on the field.”
Waiting for word. Junior defensive end Gerald Dixon believes he will be ready for the start of the season despite a right leg injury that has lingered since spring practice. Dixon, who started 11 games last year, didn’t practice in the final half of spring practice and has missed every day this fall after having a pin surgically implanted in his leg to correct an old fracture.
“It’s pretty healed right now so I am just waiting to get cleared,” he said. “I know the defense hands down. It’s just getting back in shape.”
Safety Antoine Wilder (knee), tight end Connor Redmond (back) and defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth (pectoral) also sat out Thursday’s practice.
Edge rusher. Freshman Boosie Whitlow, 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, believes he’ll play this year due to his ability to rush the quarterback.
“Right now I think I am able to get out there on third and long to rush the passer,” said Whitlow, a three-star recruit out of Opelika, Ala., who had 5.5 sacks as a high school senior. “The first day of fall camp when I was rushing the passer, they were like, ‘That’s what we need.’ It motivates the other players to compete when I compete.”
Saturday scrimmage. Saturday’s 5 p.m. scrimmage will be held at Williams-Brice Stadium and is open to the public. Gates on the stadium’s west side will open at 4 p.m., and seating will be available in the lower bowl on the west side of the stadium. Parking will be available in Gamecock Park beginning at 3:30 p.m.
This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 11:13 AM.