With two minutes remaining in the first quarter of Saturday’s football game against Florida, Mon Denson’s eyes lit up.
The redshirt sophomore running back had just seen a gaping hole in Florida’s front seven, and made a 24-yard mad dash untouched up the middle for his first career touchdown.
“The first one, my eyes got big,” Denson said. “I seen it open up. I had seen, I think it was Donell [Stanley] ... and Cory [Helms], they blocked the finish pretty good. I just got through the hole, tried to get skinny and tried to hit it.”
That wasn’t Denson’s only touchdown in South Carolina’s 28-20 victory over the Gators at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Denson recorded his second career touchdown with nearly four minutes remaining in the second quarter on a 12-yard rush. His two touchdowns were tied for an individual game high for the Gamecocks this season, along with Jake Bentley’s two touchdown rushes against Vanderbilt and Florida.
“The second one, it was a power play,” Denson said. “The tight end did a good job picking up the linebacker and I scored.”
Head coach Will Muschamp added of the second touchdown play, “It was a nine technique outside. We were able to win the C-gap a bunch in the game on the power play. I think they complemented each other ... We had a run check set up several times at the line of scrimmage. They swung the front, and then I thought our guys did a nice job.”
Denson’s performance not only helped lead the Gamecocks to clinch a share of second place in the SEC East, but also was full of personal career highs. He rushed for a career-high 61 yards on 13 carries, including his career-high single longest rush of 24 yards.
“Every time I get out there, I try to take advantage,” Denson said. “Even if it’s a passing play and I’m not getting the ball, I try to take advantage of every play that I get.”
The 5-foot-10, 209-pound Denson redshirted during the 2015 season and did not see any game action as a reserve running back in 2016. With the season-ending injury of running back Rico Dowdle, Denson has been a key component for the Gamecocks’ run game this season. Through 10 games, he’s accounted for 134 rushing yards, including vital first down runs against Vanderbilt.
Bentley noted Denson’s ability to step up on Saturday.
“A lot of guys stepped up, you know — A.J., Mon — to carry the load today,” Bentley said. “I think everyone never got rattled, we stayed positive ... our main focus was just doing whatever it takes to win the game.”
Denson credited the offensive line for his standout rushing performance against the Gators, and said the “So what, now what?” mantra of the team is constantly reiterated on the sidelines.
“Everybody has the same mindset,” Denson said. “Like if one of us mess up on one play, we got to get over it and get a move on to the next. So what, now what?”