Free safety relishes being a senior leader; Royster transfers
If anyone on the South Carolina football team wasn’t aware of how many days there are until the season-opener against Vandy, senior free safety D.J. Swearinger is sure to remind them.
Swearinger said he’ll constantly yell that the team will be “live” in four days, that Thursday night is the first night of college football, and that the group needs to start the year off right.
Keeping the team motivated as the long offseason winds down is just one of the roles Swearinger has taken on as a senior leader. Though he said he didn’t do anything differently, Swearinger said things did change for him from last year to this one, at least in the figurative sense.
“I was a tremendous leader last year, but me being a senior, I’ve got bigger shoes to fill being a senior leader than a junior leader,” Swearinger said. “Being a senior is a different responsibility.”
Part of that responsibility in getting those around him ready is saying certain things and communicating, even if it’s something as simple as a countdown or leading by example, he said.
With cornerback Akeem Auguste out for four to six weeks with a groin injury, Swearinger has had to help the reserves shift their focus from being backups to acting like starters.
As a senior leader, Swearinger knows how to not get carried away until kickoff, but barring an injury that would cause him to take a medical redshirt, Swearinger’s last first game of the season will be Thursday, and he said words can’t explain where his emotions will be.
“You’ve just got to be calm,” Swearinger said. “You can’t get too emotional these next three or four days. It’s got to be focus, focus, focus; film, film, film; and staying in my playbook. When Thursday comes, that emotion will kick in.”
Royster transfers:
Redshirt freshman Sheldon Royster will transfer from the program, coach Steve Spurrier confirmed after practice Sunday.
“It’s just one of those situations where Sheldon had to make a decision for him,” said secondary coach Grady Brown. “He was playing behind a lot of good players ... There’s about five or six really good players he was competing with, so he just got to the point where he thought maybe it would be hard for him to get on the field and maybe need to play somewhere else.”
When it was brought up to Spurrier that he’s down six defensive players for the start of the season, either due to injury, transfer or suspension, Spurrier said he wasn’t concerned over the depth.
“You’re talking about backups,” Spurrier said. “You’re worrying about things I’m not worried about. I worry about guys who have played. Those guys have never played. I’m supposed to worry about guys who have never played? I’m not happy it didn’t work out for them, but that’s the way it goes. You can’t play all 85. That’s the way it happens.”
Injury update:
Spurrier said quarterback Connor Shaw is back to full speed after missing a practice with back spasms.
“Connor is doing fine,” Spurrier said. “His back is fine, so I think pretty much the entire team is healthy.”
Auguste and tailback Brandon Wilds are the only two major injuries on the team, with Auguste projected to miss four to six weeks with a groin injury. Spurrier said Wilds will be out two to three weeks with his ankle injury.
Spurrier also indicated redshirting Wilds was a possibility if none of the other running backs got injured. Tailbacks Marcus Lattimore and Kenny Miles will take the majority of the snaps against Vanderbilt, Spurrier said, with true freshman Mike Davis as the No. 3 running back.
Depth at cornerback:
Brown wasn’t ready to name Auguste’s replacement at cornerback after Sunday’s practice, saying Jimmy Legree and Ahmad Christian are still competing for the spot. He said both will likely play Thursday night in the season-opener at Vanderbilt.
Brown also praised true freshman T.J. Gurley, who can play at either safety or cornerback. Brown isn’t sure if he’ll redshirt Gurley this year.
“I feel like it’ll be hard to keep T.J. off the field,” Brown said. “He’s a really good player. He’s learning fast. He’s a physical guy. I have to downscale him a little bit at practice, because in certain situations, he compromises the health of the receivers. You’d rather have to slow him down than speed him up. It’s going to be hard to keep him off the field.”
Walk-ons score scholarships:
Offensive lineman Travis Ford and defensive back Jared Shaw have been placed on scholarship following recent transfers. Eight new walk-ons have also joined the squad.
“They’ve been in the program three or more years and they’re both rising seniors,” Spurrier said. “We were happy to be able to award those two guys scholarships. I told the walk-ons that we’re going to use all 85 players, and we had two guys leave, so it opened the door for these two guys.”