Saturday’s season-opener against NC State marked the first collegiate game for several Gamecock football players, and according to head coach Will Muschamp, the defensive newcomers exceeded expectations.
Muschamp was particularly impressed with redshirt junior linebacker Eldridge Thompson, who transferred from Coffeyville Junior College this year. He played behind the Gamecocks’ most decorated player, Skai Moore, and tallied one solo tackle.
“I think Eldridge Thompson on a critical play against their best player Samuels,” Muschamp said. “That’s where they wanted to go with the ball. They ended up not being able to throw it. He had outstanding coverage of the play down there in the red zone. I’m really proud of him and his opportunities behind Skai.”
Of eight total newcomers who took the field Saturday, six were freshmen. Muschamp listed defensive end Aaron Sterling, linebacker Sherrod Greene and defensive back Jamyest Williams as freshmen who stuck out for positive reasons. Sterling and Greene contributed four total tackles, while Williams amassed two solo tackles. Williams played at the nickel position, impressing Muschamp with his quality of coverage in the red zone.
“Jamyest covered the inside fade [route] extremely well in the first half,” Muschamp said. "It was a heck of a throw and heck of a catch. It happens sometimes. You’ve got to lock the play and play the next play.”
Given the large amount of snaps taken by the offense Saturday, Muschamp called for more returning defensive players to step up, including Keisean Nixon, Javon Kinlaw and Kobe Smith.
“When you’re going to play 99, you’re going to play a lot of guys,” he said.
What isn’t seen from the box score are the newcomers’ efforts on special teams, which caught the eyes of ESPN analysts who watched the Gamecocks' practice on Thursday.
“They said all of your best players are on special teams,” Muschamp said. “I said, ‘I know.’ We’ve got to get more guys coming on that. We added some young guys, especially I noticed on defense playing in the game. We’ve got to get more numbers playing, especially with the number of snaps we’ll play next week.”