Clayton White’s new challenge this spring: Defending Kendal Briles’ USC offense
South Carolina will scrimmage once again in its final week of spring football practice this week, and USC defensive coordinator Clayton White has a key area where he hopes to see his defense improve.
“Right now, it’s just playing on the same page. The communication piece. I think our effort’s there, execution has been there,” White said Monday. “This communication piece, I think that’s always the barrier that you go through when you have this many guys.”
USC scrimmaged once before on March 28. According to head coach Shane Beamer, USC’s offense turned the ball over just once in the 65-play scrimmage. Players on both sides of the ball noted the high-tempo offense installed by new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles.
The former TCU coordinator’s scheme has posed a new challenge for a Gamecock defense that’s finished top 10 in the SEC for fewest average points allowed in each of White’s five seasons as DC.
“It kind of puts you in the game mode really fast, as far as a play caller, and also just mode of operation on defense,” White said. “Our guys got to get their eyes to the sideline. They can’t spend five seconds talking to each other about, ‘If this, if that.’ No. Turn around and let’s go. ... It’s definitely a challenge.”
White said going against the uptempo offense will help his defense be better prepared for in-game situations this fall, but getting his new defense — which features 14 transfers and early-enrolled freshmen — on the same page while dealing with the tempo provides its own hurdles. Ultimately, he said, it only sharpens his defense more.
“It definitely plays a role. We’re trying not to rush into it, that kind of word kind of gives some anxiety a little bit. We kind of want to be very urgent and make sure we’re on point. ... That’s the main thing. It helped us speed up that communication,” White said. “It’s been good, though. It really makes you be honest with what you’re doing. You can’t really try and be too tricky, because they can end up snapping the ball.”
White said some of the communication faults in part come from a lack of experience, particularly up front. USC had eight outgoing defensive linemen this offseason, including key contributors Nick Barrett and Bryan Thomas Jr. White added that the adjusted practice schedule without a spring game should help his defense clean things up more before spring practice ends.
“Not saying we’re behind. They’re definitely striving to meet the standards and expectations. I do believe that they’re, you know, a little behind from the guys who’ve been here three or four years, if that makes sense. Just naturally,” White said.
“That’s why we’re trying to change our schedule a little bit to give us two more weeks to kind of clean up, instead of just going spring game, go home, see you in June. They’ll be getting a chance to clean up and kind of sharpen some more tools right before we leave.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2026 at 3:46 PM.