Gamecocks deep into preparation for triple option

South Carolina’s coaches are doing everything they can in practice to prepare for The Citadel’s triple option offense. The problem for the Gamecocks is the difficulty of that task.

“Our scout team is going to do a good job trying to resemble an offense like they run, but no scout team ever does this system justice,” South Carolina interim head coach Shawn Elliott said.

The Bulldogs are second in the Football Championship Subdivision in rushing with 343.7 yards per game. They run the ball on 87 percent of their offensive snaps and have six players with at least 58 carries this season.

Gamecocks safety Isaiah Johnson hasn’t played against a triple option team since his junior year of high school, he said.

“My role is going to change a lot this week,” he said.

South Carolina’s defense has been preparing for the Bulldogs’ cut blocking for “four or five weeks now,” Elliott said.

“You can’t simulate a cut block with a bag or a dummy or something like that. You’ve really got to go after it and have a defender diving and throwing themselves through your thighs, through your lower half to get the feel for it. It’s a tough way to go out and practice and prepare, but it’s the only way you can go out and practice and prepare for this type of offense.”

The Future

Backup quarterbacks Connor Mitch and Lorenzo Nunez could see some time this week if circumstances allow, Elliott said.

“They’ve got to be a big part of our program moving forward and seeing where we can go offensively with either one of them leading us,” Elliott said, “but we’re going to hopefully play the best player who can lead us to a win against the Citadel.”

Injury update

Junior offensive tackle Mason Zandi, who was started all 10 games this season, won’t play against The Citadel due to a high ankle sprain and likely will not return in time for the season finale against Clemson. True freshman Blake Camper will start in Zandi’s place at right tackle.

“Blake’s ready to go out there and play. We’ve got to turn him loose,” Elliott said. “He is very, very anxious to get in there and compete and let me tell you, he’s excited about the opportunity to go out there and play. I have a lot of faith in Blake. He’s done well in practice and now the opportunity is for him to go out and play well. We’ll certainly evaluate every play during the course of the game to see how he’s matching up, but I feel sure he’ll go out there and give everything he’s got.”

Guard Mike Matulis could be moved to tackle if Camper struggles against The Citadel.

Wide receiver D.J. Neal, who missed the Florida game due to a hip injury, is expected to return Saturday. Matulis and defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth did not practice Tuesday.

Sands Story

South Carolina running backs coach Everette Sands not only was a star on The Citadel team that beat South Carolina 38-35 in 1990, he also once rushed for 199 yards in a game against Appalachian State when Elliott was a player at App State.

“What am I supposed to do about that?” Elliott said Tuesday when reminded of that fact. “You want me to fire him or what? I can do that.”

Sands was not made available for interviews this week.

Back to Normal

South Carolina will wear its traditional white helmets with the block C design this week, Elliott said.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 7:09 PM.