How Gamecocks football hopes to fill Skai Moore void at LB

As one of the most accomplished players on USC’s football team, senior linebacker Skai Moore’s season-ending injury has been a hard hit to the defense. But the core group of linebackers is working on becoming more versatile to fill the void.

Moore underwent surgery in June to repair a herniated disc in his neck and will miss the 2016 season. The team captain finished with 111 tackles last season and led the Gamecocks in tackles for three consecutive seasons.

“Not one player can replace Skai,” senior linebacker Bryson-Allen Williams said. “He'll probably go down as one of the greatest Gamecocks in history. We just got to spread the love. Everybody divide up.”

In preparation for Moore’s absence, the linebackers have been rotated during practice to determine which player will fill each position. Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson believes the linebackers will see the best results if they can adapt to playing at several positions.

“We got a lot of guys that are starting to do some different things for us and they’ve got to be able to play multiple positions,” Robinson said.

One of the players Robinson believes will have a large impact is senior linebacker Jonathan Walton. Walton recorded 42 tackles last season and is roommates with Moore. He’s disappointed they will not be sharing time on the field together this season.

“I've been with him the past couple of years so it's the first year I'm adjusting to not having him out there,” Walton said. “I live with him so that was kind of still in there, but on the field it's going to be a little weird."

Walton is impressed with the way linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler is handling Moore’s absence. Since he joined Will Muschamp’s staff last December, Hutzler has changed the linebackers’ practice drills and is experimenting by shifting them around to different spots.

“He's changed it tremendously,” Walton said. “I love what he's doing and the effort he's just bringing us to play with. He's showing us how versatile we are and we are all using our skills the best that we can. We've got linebackers that can both pass rush, cover and that's a huge deal for them and what they're trying to do.”

Some observers project redshirt senior linebacker T.J. Holloman to be among the biggest contributor in replacing Moore as he had 63 tackles, including 2.5 for loss last season and can play at both the Will and Mike linebacker positions. But Holloman believes it will be a team effort.

“I think they’re relying on everyone,” Holloman said. “It’s not really one player’s defense. It’s not really my defense or one single person’s defense. It’s our team’s defense. A lot of guys are going to have to do a lot of different things but in the end it’ll all work out.”

This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 2:11 PM.