Defense will focus on Gurley
Georgia may have lost to Clemson last Saturday, but the Bulldogs showcased some stellar weapons on offense.
The Gamecocks are in for a battle Saturday in Athens, Ga., as they prepare for talented sophomore running backs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall.
Gurley was especially impressive last week, finishing the game with 154 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns, highlighted by a 75-yard score in the first quarter.
South Carolina linebackers and spurs coach Kirk Botkin called Gurley a “special” player and said the Gamecock defense has its work cut out for it.
“You have to wrap up, hit him hard and get help coming,” Botkin said. “I haven’t seen just one guy bring No. 3 down.”
Senior defensive end Chaz Sutton said the main defensive focus will be on Gurley and Marshall and on getting off the field on third downs against senior quarterback Aaron Murray.
“The thing with Georgia is they want to establish the run early,” Sutton said. “If they can do that, then they have success. As long as we can stop the run and get after the quarterback on third down, we should be able to control the game up front and throughout the level two and level three of defense. It’s just all about how we establish ourselves as a defense early in the game.”
Sophomore linebacker Kaiwan Lewis agreed that South Carolina’s linebackers and spurs will need to get downhill quickly to contain Gurley and Marshall.
The Gamecocks have a Gurley of their own who will look to make a big contribution against Georgia. Sophomore boundary safety T.J. Gurley will get the start after junior Kadetrix Marcus dislocated his left shoulder against North Carolina.
T.J. Gurley said he does not feel any pressure stepping in as the starter, and coach Steve Spurrier said he played well against the Tar Heels after Marcus left the game. T.J. Gurley led the team with nine tackles, seven of them solo, and received a game ball for his performance.
It was his first game after a knee injury against Florida last year. Sutton said even with the injury, T.J. Gurley got on the bike constantly and worked hard in offseason rehab.
“He’s a guy that you could just rely on because he’s going to go the extra mile to make sure he’s prepared for the task at hand,” Sutton said.
T.J. Gurley said the hard part of returning after the injury was the mental aspect of the game and showing coaches that he could run well while wearing a knee brace. He is from Georgia, growing up in Cairo, so he said this game means a lot to him.
“It’s like a rival game to me,” he said. “Most of the Georgia players are near or from where I’m from. They talk a lot of trash, but it’s all fun.”
Secondary coach Grady Brown said he expects T.J. Gurley to be fine after playing so well against North Carolina. Brown added that the secondary does not have to make many adjustments after playing the up-tempo Tar Heels.
In fact, he called playing the Tar Heels before Georgia a “blessing.”
“An up-tempo offense like North Carolina makes you better for a pro-style offense like Georgia,” Brown said. “It prepares you because it puts you in the mindset, ‘I need to hurry up and get lined up.’”
The Georgia passing attack lost a key member in junior wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell, who tore his ACL celebrating a teammate’s touchdown. Senior tight end Arthur Lynch and junior wide receivers Michael Bennett and Chris Conley are expected to pick up the slack.
The Gamecocks’ pass rush will be key in keeping Murray from finding a rhythm. There was much national criticism of defensive end Jadeveon Clowney for looking tired in the North Carolina game.
Spurrier said he is not too worried about Clowney’s stamina against Georgia and said the junior should be ready to play.
Sutton agreed with his coach, saying he could not single Clowney out because a lot of players on South Carolina’s defense were tired. Sutton added that the Tar Heels’ fast-paced offense was designed to fatigue the defense.
“I think one thing he’s learned is that the camera is on him all the time now,” Spurrier said. “It wasn’t on him last year. It was on him on the replays after he made sacks, big plays and stuff like that, but every play the camera is on him. It was a hot day last week as we all know, and sometimes the heat affects people in different ways, it affected him—no questions about it.”
“Hopefully, we can get him a little bit better prepared physically to go the distance against Georgia.”