Ernest Jones: 'You have to be humbled sometimes'

It was mere minutes after South Carolina was upended 24-20 in its season opener against North Carolina when Ernest Jones walked into a gaggle of microphones and TV cameras.

There, the second-year middle linebacker was set to take questions about whatever just happened on the field at Bank of America, but instead started with a message of positivity despite what a lot of outside voices consider a woeful loss.

“We’ll be a great team, a good team moving forward,” Jones said. “That’s probably something that needed to happen. We’ll move forward and we’ll be good."

Also see: An insider look at what happened Saturday

Despite the Gamecocks dropping a season opener to an unranked opponent for the first time since before Jones was born (1995), he didn’t seem overly concerned with the program’s trajectory as they get ready to enter the teeth of the nation’s hardest schedule.

The reason for the loss he’s not sure of yet, but thinks this could help bring the Gamecocks back to Earth a little bit after an offseason where they spent talking a lot about how this is the deepest team since Will Muschamp took over.

“I’m not sure,” he said after being asked why this needed to happen. “You have to be humbled some times.”

Jones, while young, is now thrust into his first test as a leader defensively, having to rally a group together to try and bounce back from a tough loss and try to refocus with Charleston Southern up next and defending SEC Champion Alabama looming after that.

Jones said it’s about “focusing on ourselves now” and still has high hopes for what this team can do.

Also see: Trying to add context to the season-opening loss

“We’re going to be better. It’s going to be better,” he said. “It’s the first game of the season. We have 13 or 14 more. We have to keep going.”

But it’s not just Jones who said he needs to be better and embrace that leadership role more.

Kyle Markway, a fifth-year player who’s been around the block a time or two, said it’s up to him and the other seniors offensively to rally the troops and get it together to make sure Saturday’s loss doesn’t bleed into a second or third loss.

“I need to step up as a leader. I need to be vocal and make sure these guys stay on the train and keep moving forward,” he said. “It’s easy to veer off, but we have a lot of football to be played. We have a lot of good things ahead of us.”

Also see: Inside the Gamecocks' snap count from Saturday

The Gamecocks struggled offensively Saturday, putting up 101 yards in the second half behind an inconsistent half by Jake Bentley, who finished the fourth quarter going 2-for-9 for 15 yards and two interceptions.

Sunday, Will Muschamp said not all of it falls on Bentley, and Bryan Edwards had the same sentiment immediately after the loss.

“We all have to do our part,” he said. “I jumped offsides today. In the first quarter or second quarter I dropped a pass over the middle after Jake got away from pressure. It’s on all of us. he did make some key turnovers in key parts of the game. it is what it is.”