True freshman to start in place of suspended Swearinger 
Ten minutes after the one-game suspension for his helmet-to-helmet hit in the game against Alabama-Birmingham was announced by the SEC, senior free safety D.J. Swearinger called true freshman T.J. Gurley to tell him the two would be watching film together all week because Gurley was probably going to be the starter with Swearinger sidelined.
Watching film together is nothing new for the two, who senior linebacker Shaq Wilson said are like brothers. As Gurley prepares for his first start Saturday against Missouri, his summer film sessions and tutelage from Swearinger, as well as his aggressive nature, made him the obvious choice to replace the senior leader on the field.
“[Swearinger] used to tell the young guys that he’s going to watch film, and I just wanted to get better and was here to play, so every time he’d go work out or something, I’d just follow him,” Gurley said.
“I think everyone pretty much knew when we got the word about D.J.,” said secondary coach Grady Brown. “T.J. is his backup, so you’ve got to go in and play those plays — that’s why you practice every day. We honestly haven’t had a real conversation or anything like that.”
When Brown couldn’t work with Gurley over the summer because of NCAA restrictions, Swearinger worked on football drills with Gurley, “an ongoing process” that fostered the bond between the two, Brown said. Before the season opener, Brown was hesitant in calling Gurley a redshirt candidate because he would be hard to keep off the field. Brown said Gurley isn’t tentative, even as a freshman, and has practiced at both cornerback and safety.
In the Gamecocks’ last open scrimmage of the preseason, Gurley made a tackle that was too physical for head coach Steve Spurrier’s liking against his own offense. Gurley said his teammates told him Spurrier would be mad after the play, but for Gurley, he said it was just his nature to hit hard at every opportunity, like he did in high school.
“We want our defense to be aggressive and not let up anything,” said defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. “That’s why we chose to put him in this week. He’s aggressive and we want him to be.”
With an aggressive play resulting in the suspension of Swearinger, Spurrier said in his weekly press conference on Tuesday the helmet-to-helmet hit was one the coaches emphasize that the players not do, but Gurley said there hasn’t been much talk about the defense changing its style this week.
“(Defensive coordinator Lorenzo) Ward said he’d never take the aggression out of you, so I don’t really worry about that,” Gurley said. “He said he’d never take away your aggression.”
Players are not allowed to post on Twitter during the regular season, per team policy, but Swearinger, who was not made available to media, took to Instagram, posting a photo that read, “So we playin 2 hand touch des days!?!? Football a neva b da same no mo!!! I guess dis game is a tru passing league now......”
Wilson said Swearinger has been in good spirits since his suspension. He called the play Swearinger was flagged for a “bang-bang play” in a fast sport, but the team won’t be focusing on a suspension that can’t be changed.
“He knows there’s nothing he can do about it,” Wilson said. “Right now, he’s just out there playing football, going full speed, and he knows he’s not a dirty player at all. I know everybody around here can tell he plays the game with passion.
“He’s basically just taking it as a minor setback for a major comeback. I feel bad for Kentucky.”
Wilson said Gurley is like Swearinger’s “little brother” in his commitment, regularly putting in extra time over the summer. In turn, Swearinger put in extra time with Gurley. Senior defensive end Devin Taylor said Swearinger’s vocal leadership will be missed most on Saturday, though he doesn’t doubt Swearinger will find a way to make himself heard during the game.
Gurley said Swearinger hasn’t told him what his role will be on the sideline, but he imagines it’ll be the same as what he’s been doing in practice this week. It’s what Swearinger has always done with Gurley, and Wilson said it’s just the kind of player Swearinger is.
“When I get off the field, we’ll talk and he’ll be like, watch this or watch that,” Gurley said. “He’s just been coaching me.”