South Carolina might be one practice in and a few meetings deep since spring started, but that doesn’t mean this is the first time they’ve seen Clayton White’s new defensive scheme.
Because of NCAA rules the Gamecocks have had a handful of walk-throughs already in White’s 4-2-5 scheme and it’s been met with positive reviews early in spring practice.
“Oh man, he’s great. Man, he’s great," Mo Kaba said. "He always wants to teach you new things. If he feels there’s something he doesn’t like he knows you probably don’t like it either and will try to change it up to help base it around us. I really like him as my defensive coordinator and hope to have him all four years here.”
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White came over this offseason from Western Kentucky and brought his 4-2-5 system with him.
Since arriving he’s spent that time in limited meetings and walk-through installing the basics of his defense, and players so far have really enjoyed learning it so far.
White’s system, and every 4-2-5 really, is known for having four defensive linemen and two linebackers with four defensive backs.
What separates it from other systems is a roaming linebacker/defensive back hybrid (the fifth defensive back) that can either drop back in coverage or serve as another linebacker who can come up and fit the run and rush the passer, if need be.
“The safeties way more involved in the run fits this year while reading pass. We’re reading our keys more and being with the keys we read we’re allowed to do different things helping the defense,” RJ Roderick said. “A lot of times the safeties in the defense don’t have any work, which is just like an assignment to carry out. Sometimes you can just be a free player and help out other players on the defense.”
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The Gamecocks ran the 4-2-5 almost a decade ago with Ellis Johnson the defensive coordinator and dubbing that flex linebacker/secondary player the Spur linebacker.
What this system gives players is the ability to make easier checks at each position and not have one guy—typically the middle linebacker—making calls for the entire defense.
“We don’t have too many things we have to check to,” Kaba said. “Everybody has a job and if we do that job everything is not based on one person trying to make a call for everybody.”
In reality, it’s still incredibly premature to say what this defense will look like and how the Gamecocks will fare in White’s first season in Columbia.
The Gamecocks still have a month of spring practice left, an entire offseason and training camp before the season starts so there’s still a long way to go before any clear cut observations can be made about what things will look like in August.
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“It excites me a lot,” Tonka Hemingway said. “We’re sticking in the playbook, looking over things with my playbook then coming over here and running through them a little bit.”
The Gamecocks continue spring practice with three more practices scheduled for this week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
It will give White and his defensive staff more chances to continue installing the defense they want to this spring.
“The scheme will be a little different for us to get after the quarterback,” Jordan Burch said. “Things are going to change with stunts, getting after the passer and plays we have going in but I think this year will be a little better.”
