Quiet Qua Lewis the anchor of Gamecocks’ defense

South Carolina’s defense was atrocious the last two seasons. Will Muschamp, no stranger to fixing defenses, is seeking a foothold as he begins repairing, and he’s looking for a player that fits a lot of categories.

Stable. Reliable. Responsible. Talented. Leader.

That player was simple to find when every buzzword was first answered with one name – Marquavius Lewis.

“He’s a guy that you can tell has got some command in the locker room, and guys have a tremendous amount of respect for him. As a person first of all, as a football player second,” Muschamp said at SEC Media Days. “Work ethic’s what I see. He really demonstrates it.

“It’s easy to take a young man like Keir Thomas or Kobe Smith and say, ‘Hey, that’s what it looks like.’”

Lewis is the Gamecocks’ only returning 12-game starter, and one of only six players on either side of the ball to start every game last year. He was the defense’s best at hurrying the quarterback (six), second in sacks (three) and while he wasn’t as productive as he wanted to be, he has another season to live up to his billing.

It’s already a great player-coach match. Lewis plays a position integral to the Gamecocks’ defensive success, and Muschamp will put Lewis into whatever position he can to direct a revamped attack.

In the whirlwind of taking the job, moving the family and meeting all of his new players, Muschamp was struck by Lewis’ quiet ferocity. He’s not a talker, he’s a doer.

Lewis reminded Muschamp of another former star, Texas’ Sergio Kindle, and an error he made while coaching him. He knew what not to do in order to get through to Lewis, and it’s already paid off.

“(Kindle) was a very quiet young man like Qua. Going into his last year, I said, ‘You need to be more vocal,’ and he didn’t play worth a dang the first two games of the year,” Muschamp said. “And a lot of it was trying to be who he wasn’t.

“I’m not asking (Lewis) to be anything out of the ordinary as far as being vocal and some of those things. I don’t want anybody to be uncomfortable in the situation they’re in.”

The Gamecocks need a leader on defense, especially with Skai Moore lost for the year, and Lewis is a senior.

“We have several leaders on defense, but Qua is a senior,” said senior offensive lineman Mason Zandi. “Qua’s not a very vocal guy – you guys will figure that out – but you need sacrifice. He leads by his work ethic and by example.”

Lewis was heralded as the best JUCO strongside defensive end in the country when he picked USC, and while he started all year, his numbers weren’t terrific. Much of that is because opposing quarterbacks knew USC was vulnerable over the middle and quickly unloaded passes to that spot, denying Lewis a target. And much of it was because he wasn’t used to playing at the highest level of college football.

All he wants is to prove his ability, and reward his coach’s trust in him.

“I feel like that all of our guys will take on that responsibility. We’re all leaders,” he said, not biting on a “team leader” tag. “We talk about it, but I’m not a big talker. Coach knows he doesn’t want to change that about me. He lets me lead by example.”

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 6:16 PM.