Vanderbilt quarterback reminds Gamecocks of Shaw
When asked for his thoughts about South Carolina’s season opener, sophomore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney offered an unusual assessment of Vanderbilt.
“They are smart; they are a very smart team. You have to be smart to go to Vanderbilt,” Clowney said. “They know how to count numbers. Wherever the weak spot is on the field, they will find it. And they try to use it against us.”
Numbers indicate that Vanderbilt’s offense improved significantly in the second half of last season. The Commodores averaged 32 points in the final seven games after averaging 22 per game in the season’s first six contests.
Despite the improvement the Commodores made, the Gamecocks will look to duplicate their success against Vanderbilt from last year and shut down its offense on Thursday night.
USC’s defensive effort against Vanderbilt in 2011 was possibly its best all season. In the Gamecocks’ 21-3 victory, they held the Commodores to 77 yards of offense, including just four rushing yards.
But Vanderbilt opens the 2012 season with senior Jordan Rodgers as its starting quarterback. The senior, who is the younger brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, started seven games last year, leading his team’s offensive surge.
Coach Steve Spurrier noted that Rodgers and junior wide receiver Jordan Matthews are Vanderbilt’s major offensive threats. USC held Matthews to one reception for six yards in last year’s matchup.
“Their quarterback, Jordan Rodgers, is a good passer like his brother,” Spurrier said. The players have also seem to have taken note of Rodgers’ talent, “He can run the ball,” said senior free safety D.J. Swearinger. “He really doesn’t like to run it a lot, but he can run the ball.”
Secondary coach Grady Brown said Rodgers “comes from good stock” and compared him to South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw in that they share the dual-threat ability.
“I think the thing for us is we keep our eyes in the right place and play our techniques and execute our responsibilities,” Brown said.
South Carolina’s secondary features a number of players with limited experience. Older players, including redshirt sophomore cornerback Victor Hampton, have helped prepare freshmen such as T.J. Gurley and Chaz Elder for their first game.
“[The freshmen] are ahead of the game,” Hampton said. “When I was a freshman, I didn’t play. Those guys came ready to play. We kind of helped them out more than guys did when I was a freshman. We put them a little bit ahead of the game.”
Hampton and redshirt junior Jimmy Legree will start at corner, and neither had substantial playing time last year. But USC has a veteran core of linebackers to balance the lack of experience in the secondary.
“Up front, we are probably one of the oldest defensive lines in the country,” Spurrier said. “All of our linebackers are seniors, even the backups — Shaq Wilson, Reggie Bowens, Damario Jeffery, Devonte Holloman at spur.”
As for Clowney, he left numbers to Vanderbilt. He said he did not have a target number of snaps that he expected to play on Thursday. But after improving his knowledge of the game in the offseason, he is prepared to go all out for USC.
“I am trying to play all [the plays] at full speed,” Clowney said. “I am feeling a lot better [than last year], because I learned a lot about this game.”