Gamecocks look to contain pass-heavy ECU
Things were looking good for South Carolina in its season opener at Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks held a 10-0 lead with 11 minutes to go in the second quarter, and they had held the Commodores to 61 yards of offense on 21 plays.
That was until USC sophomore safety Brison Williams mistimed a jump on a pass over the middle, allowing Vandy receiver Jordan Matthews to make the catch and race 78 yards for the touchdown.
All of the momentum the Gamecocks had just moments before was gone, and the Commodores were right back in the game.
In a nutshell, that shows how much of an impact the secondary has on a football team, according to position coach Grady Brown. Do your job and you can shut down an offense; make one mistake, and the whole game can change.
“It’s a highly critical position. You can’t make mistakes, and normally, when you make mistakes, they go for six, so we kind of practice that way and pay attention to detail every day,” Brown said.
“If a defensive lineman or linebacker misses a tackle, it’s 6 yards; if we miss a tackle, it’s six points,” senior safety D.J. Swearinger said.
The defensive back position was a concern coming into the season for USC, as junior Jimmy Legree and redshirt sophomore Victor Hampton, two first-year starters at the position, replaced first-round draft choice Stephon Gilmore and injured senior Akeem Auguste.
Legree and Hampton — along with the rest of the secondary — will get a tough test when East Carolina comes to town Saturday. Last season, the Pirates averaged 44 passing attempts and 286 passing yards a game. They are off to a similar start this season after quarterback Rio Johnson completed 28 of 43 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns in their 35-13 season-opening win against Appalachian State.
Although USC defeated the Pirates 56-37 last year in Charlotte, N.C., the defense still allowed ECU quarterback Dominique Davis to throw for 260 yards and four touchdowns. Brown knows his unit has to be ready for the fast-paced attack again this year.
“We definitely need to be in position to play well on the deep ball,” Brown said. “You have to do a good job of playing the perimeter screen and coming up and making good tackles. Definitely have to be ready for the up-tempo offense, and you can’t be lackadaisical in getting lined up.”
Both coaches and players expressed how impressed they were with the tackling of Legree and Hampton in the Vanderbilt game. Legree knows tackling will be a high priority Saturday and said it has been something the secondary has been working on all year.
“Coach Brown, being a new coach, worked on tackling drills every day [in spring and summer],” Legree said. “That’s not something we did every day in the past, so that helped me out a lot. Last year, I didn’t do so well. It’s going to be a challenge, but I am going to be ready for it.”
Legree said watching the Vanderbilt tape put a “smile on my face” because he was able to see himself make all of the plays that came his way. The Beaufort native finished with seven tackles — one of them for loss — and one pass breakup in the season opener.
Because the ECU offense uses screen passes and runs a fast-paced offense, the entire Gamecock secondary knows it must make the plays that come its way. There will be more opportunity for mistakes such as the 78-yarder in the Vanderbilt game to occur this Saturday. The plan, according to Swearinger, is for people to be in the right place at the right time and use their quickness.
“We had times where we were walking around and not getting lined up (in time),” Swearinger said. “We’re taking that to heart this week, and we’re going to get better at that. We have to use what God has given us, and that’s speed. We have a lot of speed on this defense, and with [ECU] wanting to go side to side, that will play into our hands.”
Though the Pirate offense could pose a challenge, it could also present an opportunity.
“It gives me a lot of confidence that [ECU] passes the ball a whole lot,” Swearinger said. “More opportunities for me and the secondary to get picks.”