Gamecocks’ defensive line, secondary fluid but taking shape

South Carolina football player Ulric Jones spent most of first year bouncing around between offensive line, tight end and several defensive line spots.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pounder seems settled at the interior defensive line, and at this juncture of August camp, he’s on the first team. Though everything remains fluid, the team has had a consistent top four of late.

“Right now it’s me, (Marquavius) Lewis, Dante Sawyer’s at the end. Darius English is at the Buck,” Ulric said. “Nothing’s set in stone, but that’s what we’re working at right now.”

Defensive line coach Lance Thompson said he wants to go deep up front with as many as 10 linemen ready for game days. He said he doesn’t put much weight on who starts because chances are linemen will be getting a break in the second or third series.

Thompson also confirmed Sawyer has been playing exclusively defensive end after playing tackle last fall and missing the spring because of injury.

Defensive back Chris Lammons said the secondary has currently settled with a “black” group of first-teamers and others in a “garnet” group. The current black group is Lammons, Rico McWilliams and Rashad Fenton at corner, with Chaz Elder and D.J. Smith at safety. Jordan Diggs has been working in some at safety, and as top-rated JUCO transfer Jamarcus King adapts, he’s worked in at corner.

“The black group is where everybody is trying to get,” Lammons said.

Line facing line

Although Thompson isn’t on the inside of South Carolina’s offensive line room, he gets a front-row seat to that group’s output when he reviews his own guys’ work on film. The veteran of well over a decade in the SEC, he came away confirming the praise that’s been heaped on USC’s offensive front.

“This is a real deal offensive line,” Thompson said. “These guys are good. D.J. Park, (Donell) Stanley, Zandi. Those guys are real deals. They’re big. They’re physical. They’re good kids. They’re hard-nosed. All those guys.

“To me, that’s the best thing about our situation now is every day we’re competing against a good SEC offensive line.”

Thompson said he told his players that if they can compete with their counterparts in practice, they’ll be just fine on Saturdays.

Wonnum’s world

Freshman defensive end D.J. Wonnum drew praise after two practices from Will Muschamp, and looked like a tall, imposing option during media viewing periods.

But what allows freshmen to play is often softer factors such as maturity and understanding, and Thompson has seen plenty of it from the Stephenson High (Ga.) product.

“D.J. Wonnum for a true freshman has got the mind of a senior,” Thompson said. “He sees the game. He’s natural, he’s reactive. We’re all very encouraged and very happy.”

The coach praised Wonnum’s background, high school and family for preparing him, and said he’s the sort who coaches trust to go on the field and do what he’s supposed to. USC has more than a few notable freshman linemen, but Thompson said no one comes close to Wonnum on those fronts.

Moving inside

Marquavius Lewis is just about the only Gamecocks lineman on the roster with substantial starting experience. In his first year out of junior college, 2015, he started every game at defensive end.

Yet he’s spent much of camp at tackle with the starters.

“Qua is a guy we’re working at multiple positions because he is athletic, he’s big and he’s strong,” Thompson said. “And he’s a very team-oriented guy. He could have been selfish, say, ‘I’m a defensive end.’ But he’s taken on the opportunity to get better inside, done a really good job.”

At a muscular 6-foot-3, 270 pounds, he was talked about as a potential third-down inside player during the summer. He played very little defensive line at all before junior college, and hasn’t spent much time at tackle before this.

Blackshear back

This month is the first time the current USC staff gets to work with defensive end Shameik Blackshear on the field. The redshirt freshman missed the spring after being shot multiple times in December.

Even before that, his first season out of Bluffton was a rocky one, playing in two games, getting a medical redshirt and firing off a tweet suggesting discontentment. But since he took the field for camp, he’s impressed.

“Shameik’s done a really good job, especially in terms of coming off that injury that he had,” said Thompson, praising Blackshear’s length and speed. “The guy has shown a lot of toughness. Obviously his strength level is not where it was because of the injury. He’s a conscientious kid and works hard.”

Next

South Carolina practices at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and will have a walk-through on Friday. The team will have its first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday. Practices remain closed to the public until next week’s Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday workouts, all set for 6:30 p.m.

This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 7:02 PM.