South Carolina has two potential first-round picks playing cornerback this season in Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu, but one of the team’s redshirt freshmen backs is pushing to see the field early this season.

That would be Cam Smith, who’s started preseason camp well and could be meriting some snaps this season.

“He’s a guy that’s earning some playing time. That’s what I’ve been on him about; we’re not going to let him play just to play,” defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson said. “He has to earn his right to play and he’s doing a good job of that. He’s hanging with Jaycee and Izzy more than he has in the past. I think that’s been very beneficial for him.”

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Smith was one of the bigger gets in the Gamecocks’ 2019 recruiting class and even he admitted his struggle to adapt physically to the college game and into Will Muschamp and Robinson’s system.

In the spring he raved about where he was then in terms of comfort level and his body is starting to catch up to his intangible tools.

Robinson already called Smith “one of the fastest guys on our football team” and said he’s up to 180 pounds with the hopes of getting up to 185 by the time the season starts.

“Cam’s a talented player and probably one of the most talented guys we have from head to toe with the things he’s able to do,” Robinson said. “We just have to continue to work him, learn techniques and be on top of him with the details of his position. He has some really talented guys in front of him, though. That’s a good problem to have for me.”

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If Smith can continue to develop and chisel out a role as one of the Gamecocks’ cornerbacks, it gives South Carolina the ability to mix and match guys in the secondary.

Mukuamu could slide back to safety some and use his freakish 6-foot-4 frame on the back end or Jammie Robinson could come down and play nickel and impact the game closer to the line of scrimmage.

That’s what South Carolina’s working through as the second week of practice starts.

“So in different packages, if you go back to a couple of seasons ago, Izzy as a freshman played a little bit of safety and played a little bit last year. He’s a multiple guy, a very smart and intelligent guy that can learn multiple spots in the secondary,” Robinson said.

“In some nickel packages to get Cam (Smith) in the game at corner or John (Dixon) in the game at corner sometimes we’ll put Izzy at safety. He can do different things like that. He’s a versatile guy that way.”

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Regardless of who plays, the Gamecock secondary should be arguably the best it’s been under Muschamp and could give Robinson a lot to work with schematically.

“I’m excited about it. I think we can do some different things,” Robinson said. “I think we can play some man to man and do some different things and package zone inside. There’s a couple different options with those guys playing.”

Complete Coverage of Stockton's commitment: Gunner Stockton commits to South Carolina | Coach Jaybo Shaw on Stockton | Inside the commitment - How did Gamecocks land Stockton? | VIDEO: Chris Clark and Wes Mitchell break down the Stockton pledge | Some top prospects who have taken notice | Rivals Analyst Chad Simmons on Stockton as a player