Jamarcus King feeling his way through transition to SEC

Jamarcus King came in as the nation’s top prospect from junior college. He’s big. He’s fast. He has been touted to have the ability to play press coverage better than any defensive back the team has had the past two seasons.

But he’s not teaching his current teammates much new, instead doing the opposite.

“I learn from them more honestly,” King said. “They are good players, so I watch them because they’ve been here longer than me. I learn from them and then roll with it.”

A particular sticking point was the up-tempo practices the Will Muschamp staff has instituted since the start of spring. King did not have to go through those at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.

Teammates were impressed with him in the first week, including safety Chaz Elder, who said King is as big as a safety but can move and plays aggressively. Muschamp was quick to say King has to earn his way into a top spot, but he has left an impression on the coaches.

“Very talented young man,” South Carolina defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson said. “Got great length to him. He does some really nice things on the line of scrimmage, but he’s got a long way to go as well. ... It’s a lot different than playing on the junior college level.”

King and senior Rico McWilliams were the second group of corners during a team drill in Saturday’s media viewing period of practice.

“We’ve got some really talented receivers on the outside,” Robinson said. “So he’s doing a really good job of acclimating to the things that we’re teaching, but again, we’ve got a long way to go.”

Youth and depth

Some days, Robinson forgets Keir Thomas and Kobe Smith are as young as they are.

The two true freshmen defensive linemen enrolled early and went through spring practice. Both are getting work with the first and second teams in August camp, and to the coaches, it feels as if they’ve been around a while.

And that’s a bonus for a new staff.

“Those guys know what to do,” Robinson said. “So they’re able to bring some of them young guys, because you know young guys like to hang with young guys. They’re able to bring some of them young guys along with them. ‘Hey man, it’s going to be all right. I know they’re coaching you hard.’ They didn’t know practice was going to be like practice was (Thursday). They didn’t know it was going to be as physical as it was. But what happened was, those guys were kind of telling them how it was going to be.”

The speed game

Much of an August camp is about building up. Each day teams add a little more, install something else. There’s some time to pause and go back, but not that much.

South Carolina’s staff wants that approach when it comes to matching high-tempo play. Offenses want to force defenses to keep things together play after play after play, and most can’t. So that’s another skill to build.

“How many times can we play fast in the course a practice?” Robinson said. “If it was 20 today, how many times can we play fast tomorrow? 21? ... When we can play fast for 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 reps, then we can put a whole game together.”

Boosting Boosie

Boosie Whitlow stood out as the biggest omission from the depth chart following the spring. He was the freshman lineman who showed flashes in a lost 2015 season for the defense, but he couldn’t even reach second string going into the summer.

He’ll have a chance to push Darius English and Daniel Fennell for reps, but in some cases, that kind of set back and create a cycle of doubt. English said Whitlow is taking the opposite outlook.

“He’s definitely using that as motivation,” English said. “I definitely try to talk to him every day, keep your head up. He does a good job of that.”

English, a senior who led the team in sacks last fall, said Whitlow showed a good attitude at the start of practice. One might wonder why English would so put aside concerns about his own playing time, but he said the coaches’ approach to the line helps there.

Robinson said he hopes to go into games with 10 linemen he can play. If that comes to fruition, no one will be playing a particularly overwhelming share of the snaps, so if someone slips in the rotation, they’ll still have a role if they stay intense and focused.

Robinson even said the staff scripts who goes in for early drives, much like offenses script plays. That gets everyone involved, and in the fourth quarter, the staff can go with who is playing the best.

Still special

True sophomore cornerback Rashad Fenton projects to get more work on defense than his first year on campus. But he’s still trying to be involved in special teams, the area he made his mark in 2015.

After bursting into the consciousness of Gamecocks fans with a 96-yard kick return touchdown against LSU, he’s remaining involved in the return game. He said the team spent 20 to 30 minutes a day on special teams in the split-squad sessions of the first week, and he felt this staff puts a closer eye on that area than the previous one.

“To me, this one is more detailed about each specific aspect of special teams,” Fenton said. “Kick return, kickoff and punt.”