Gamecocks look to atone for consecutive 4th-quarter collapses
It’s been quite a ride so far this season for the South Carolina defense and not in a good way.
It's been more like one that they thought was going to be smooth with a few bumps, but they didn’t expect there would be a few 50-foot drops in the middle.
As a result of the recent two-game losing streak, where the Gamecocks had chances to make late stands, defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward has received a lot of heat for the unit's poor performance.
But leadership from the defense's upperclassmen stepped up and shouldered the blame away from Ward for the fourth quarter collapses, saying the recent failures are on the players.
“It wasn’t about the coaches. It was about us,” junior safety T.J. Gurley said. “We had to look ourselves in the eyes. We were missing a lot of tackles, blowing some assignments."
That’s why Ward has shifted the focus in practice to make things simpler for his defense, in terms of schemes with more emphasis on the fundamentals, like tackling.
In Gurley's opinion, his coach shouldn’t have to simplify the schemes, as the team has had a good bit of success with them the past couple of seasons. Yet, it's clear there aren’t past superstars like Jadeveon Clowney and Kelcy Quarles that can change the game instantly in this year’s group.
Ward is changing up some other things as well, including where he will be during the games — he’ll now be up in the coaching box instead of on the sidelines. He said if he had been able to see the Kentucky offense from up top, the Gamecocks would have been able to stop its “Wildcat” formation that lit them up for five touchdowns.
Kentucky’s Jojo Kemp was picking apart South Carolina in that mobile quarterback spot two weeks ago, which means the Gamecocks may not have a cakewalk Saturday with another dual-threat player in Furman's true freshman quarterback, P.J. Blazejowski.
If any positives came from South Carolina’s loss at Kentucky, it’s that true freshman free safety D.J. Smith seemed to make it clear that he belongs as a starter alongside Gurley. He played well in coverage and looked to be the most physical player at free safety by far before getting ejected for targeting in the third quarter. The targeting rule states that he has to miss four quarters of a game, so Smith won’t be allowed to play until the second half against the Paladins.
Since Smith is one of the many players that exemplify the Gamecock defense's inexperience, simplifying the play-calling stands to reason.
“ I think now what we’re doing is trying to play a little bit more base (defense) with some of the kids we have,” defensive line coach Deke Adams said. “We have some younger kids in certain situations that don’t have a lot of game experience. The easier we can make it for them, the faster they play.”
Linebackers coach Kirk Botkin said the changes will help the players to not think as much, which is a good thing because according to him, "Anytime you’re thinking, you’re playing slow.”
Maybe these adjustments can finally maximize the potential of a South Carolina defense that ranks 103rd in passing yards allowed per game (264.3).
And when you’re giving up 35 points per contest like the Gamecocks are, a matchup against a lower division team like Furman is expected to lower that average. But if it turns into another high-scoring affair with the Paladins winning or nearly winning, all bets are off regarding playing time and job security.
Redshirt senior spur Sharrod Golightly didn't have any answers after the game for why his team didn’t finish against Kentucky, but he and the team used the bye week to get over the past losses and move ahead. Much of it was concentrating on the “fun” aspect of football again that’s been lacking in previous weeks.
“ Definitely [the losses] were heartbreakers, but I think you can get better from every situation,” Golightly said. “I’m looking forward to getting back out there.”