Pass rush key against Pirates
The South Carolina defense, after several weeks of practicing against teammates, is more than ready to get some hits in against opponents not wearing a garnet and black jersey.
"All we talk about is that we can't wait to get out against Eastern Carolina and give them a run for it," said junior linebacker Damario Jeffery. "It's a lot of fun hitting the other team when you don't have to worry about hurting them. Not saying my intent is to hurt someone, but it's a lot easier to play then."
Saturday's season opener is more than just the first opportunity to shake off the rust of the offseason. Senior quarterback Dominique Davis leads an ECU offense that is known for its speed in getting rid of the ball, passing for an average of 305.2 yards per game in 2010. The Gamecocks will likely have their hands full trying to stop the Pirates' aerial attack.
"Eastern Carolina has a phenomenal offense," Jeffery said. "It's a very fast tempo. The quarterback gets the ball out of there normally in about two seconds. It's going to be a lot of tipped passes, and we have to play on a lot of instinct against them."
Due to the suspension of junior Devonte Holloman, Jeffery will return to the spur position, where he played last season, for Saturday's game. He made the transition to Will linebacker in the offseason.
"The only time I'll get asked to play Will is in our dime package. I'm the spur for the whole game," Jeffery said. "I'm looking forward to it. I'm a little rusty, though. I keep thinking about everything I had to do at Will. It's a little bit different from spur, so I have to get the Will plays out of my head and get the spur going."
Melvin Ingram and Travian Robertson will lead a Gamecock defensive line whose goal is to eliminate Davis's passing options.
"We have to be smart about what we're going to do on defense," said defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward. "If you're going to blitz this kid, you're not going to accomplish a lot. You have to do some things to get him to move his feet. He does get rid of the football fast, so we're going to have to play some good, tight coverages."
At the same time, the defensive line is prepared to make sure that resorting to the running game is not an option for ECU.
"Affect the quarterback — that's our whole goal," said defensive line coach Brad Lawing. "If we can get him on the ground, that would be great. But nobody else has done that, pretty much. We cannot let them run the football. If we let them run the football and not affect the quarterback, that's not a good thing for us."
Ingram, who led the Gamecocks with nine sacks last season, has seen time both at defensive end and tackle in the past. He will likely play both positions against ECU and throughout this season as well. Robertson said he and Ingram work together well, regardless of where Ingram is playing.
"We just play our part, whatever the play is that gets called," Robertson said. "If it opens up, it opens up. It may work out for him; we don't know. We just play the scheme and go from there."
The defense has no set rotation for this week, but the team's depth gives it a variety of options. With cornerback Akeem Auguste out after reaggravating a foot injury in practice Monday, C.C. Whitlock is set to start in his place alongside Stephon Gilmore, with Marty Markett playing as backup.
Ellis Johnson, associate head coach for defense, said Monday that highly touted freshman defensive end Jadeveon Clowney would not start in his Gamecock debut.
"We've got a good group," Lawing said. "[This game is] a little different than we'll probably approach other games. We're rotating a lot of groups through practice this week. We've got some guys that are good players and work hard, and hopefully they'll play good on Saturday."