Gamecocks' best friend duo not shying away from high expectations

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

Jaycee Horn didn't say it in a cocky or arrogant way, more as if it's a simple fact of life.

"I think we can be two of the best corners in the nation," Horn said to the media last week. "That's our expectations. That should be every corner in the nation's expectation, is to be the best, so that's what we're shooting for."

Horn, South Carolina's sophomore sensation defensive back, is referring to himself and his best friend, fellow sophomore defensive back Israel Mukuamu when he makes that statement. And if last year's rookie season for both players was any indication, it's not a far-fetched thought.

"Jaycee is the ultimate, talented guy and Israel is right there working trying to beat him in everything he does," defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson said. "They push each other. I’m excited about that and i’m excited about having those two guys with length on the edges. We got a chance to be really good doing it that way."

Horn and Mukuamu became fast friends from the second they first met during a spring practice last year. Mukuamu was an early enrollee who was already on campus going through spring practice when Horn visited as a signee trying to get ready to enroll. The two immediately hit it off, eventually becoming roommates.

"Everything we do, we do it together," Horn said. "If I’m working out, he’s working out. If I’m watching film, he’s watching film."

"We're a lot similar," Mukuamu added." We're both tall corners. We have a lot of talents. We both work hard and we just both want to be great and we both want to go to the NFL, so that's what I think really clicked between us two."

It didn't take long for it to click on the field too.

Horn, a former four-star prospect, saw the field almost immediately as the Gamecocks' opening day starter at the nickelback position. He played in 11 games, making 45 tackles, including two sacks, and broke up eight passes, and would have played in all 13 if not for an ankle injury that forced him out of two.

Mukuamu started the season as a second-teamer and saw his snaps increase as his comfort level went up and injuries to other defensive backs piled up. The 6-foot-4 freshman played in 13 games, starting the final two of the season, and logged one interception, one PBU and a forced fumble.

While Horn was widely considered the Gamecocks' best defensive back, interestingly enough it was Mukuamu who edged him out as the highest graded defensive back on Pro Football Focus with a 75.6 grade to Horn's 72.9.

Now with a year under their belts, the duo returns bigger and better and more experienced. Both will almost surely start somewhere in the secondary with Mukuamu at cornerback and Horn at cornerback (the staff's preference) or nickelback.

"I think we can definitely be the best tandem in the country, because we hold each other accountable," Mukuamu says. "One day, if I'm having a bad practice, he tells me I need to get better. If he's having a bad practice, I tell him that he needs to get better. We just hold each other accountable, so I think that we can potentially be the best tandem in the country."

Sophomore defensive back R.J. Roderick has little doubt.

"Great," he said with no hesitation, asked how good the duo can be. "I'll put all my trust into them as far as that goes, playing on the edge. I see how hard they work, I know how hard they work. It's beyond the field, it's off the field, it's behind closed doors. It's consistency. I put all my trust in them. I don't worry about nothing when they're out on the edge."