Published Apr 6, 2022
Gamecocks need Zacch Pickens, Jordan Burch to capitalize on 5-star talent
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Zack Carpenter  •  GamecockScoop
Staff Writer
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@Zack_Carp

The importance for South Carolina’s defensive linemen to have a big, bounce-back season cannot be understated.

The 2021 campaign was a rough season in which the unit up front was at the core of a porous run defense and an inconsistent, weak pass rush. Behind Jimmy Lindsey, there is optimism stemming from the crew that the continuity and consistency of finally having the same voice leading the charge for a second consecutive season will pay off this spring and fall.

“It was kind of weird because I didn’t really know how to be coached, like how they wanted stuff to be. Because one coach coached different than the other one. [One coach] has some drills they like to do, and [another coach] has got drills that they like to do. Trying to learn everything in one year throws you off. Then you get a new coach and you gotta learn everything with what he do and what he likes.”

Those are the words of one of the most intriguing Gamecocks to cover this spring and one who will have one of the biggest spotlights on him come fall: defensive lineman Zacch Pickens.

Pickens’ roller coaster ride of a coaching carousel is one we detailed last week. He was recruited by one coach (Lance Thompson) and coached by two more in each of his first two seasons (John Scott, Tracy Rocker) before finally landing with Lindsey for a second straight campaign.

The continuity comes at an opportune time for Pickens. He is going to be called on to take the next step in his career.

“It’s definitely a little bit easier because I know what to expect,” Pickens said when asked if it’s been easier coming into this season knowing that he’s had one season as the leader of the defensive line. “People are looking up to me now. I’m like, I wasn’t really used to that. So it kind of gets me out of my comfort zone just a little bit.”

After being signed as a five-star prospect, a top-10 overall player and the No. 1 strongside defensive end in the country, the 2019 signee out of in-state T.L. Hanna has not lived up to that tremendous hype. Pickens has consistently been in the fold, netting 20 starts across 35 career games in his first three seasons. He’s been really good, but he hasn’t quite been the dominant force that many expected.

Pickens, though, is coming off his best season as a Gamecock, leaving the 2021 campaign with a team-leading four sacks and five tackles-for-loss. That’s one reason that his return for a fourth season brings with it some hype and hope. There’s a feeling that he could be in for a breakout that would buoy a Gamecocks bounceback up front.

“Zacch, the first thing I told him after watching tape from last season, was just to improve on his fundamentals – from hand placement to footwork, pad level, explosion, lockout,” Lindsey said. “Then, our understanding of how to get off blocks with certain schemes, and then just learning how to tackle, which is a lost art for defensive linemen.

“He’s progressed really well, and now it’s pretty cool because he can come off the field when a certain situation happens and he can explain to me what happened – or what he did or say, ‘hey, coach, I tried this move’ or ‘I got this blocking scheme.’ It’s been really great to see his football IQ grow. It’s obviously not there where we want it yet, but it’s night and day.”

Pickens says that he has been doing those same things that Lindsey discussed, working on his pass rush moves, staying lower to the ground with his bend and refining his footwork.

“I’m doing everything I can to get myself ready for this season,” Pickens said.

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Big-game Burch?

Pickens is not riding alone on the spring ball hype train. Jordan Burch is in the passenger seat alongside him.

Burch followed Pickens’ signing in the 2019 class by giving South Carolina another five-star defensive lineman – one ranked as the No. 2 strongside defensive end and No. 17 overall player in the 2020 signing class out of Hammond.

These two former in-state stars elected to stay home and begin careers as those hometown heroes as the top-ranked players in South Carolina in their respective classes. Pickens enters his fourth year with momentum, and Burch does, too, entering his third.

Pickens’ return is crucial for this unit because he can parlay his best collegiate season into a star role. Burch comes back looking for his third season to mirror – and probably exceed – the one Pickens had last season.

In Pickens’ second season, he tallied just 2.5 TFLs and one sack in 13 games but saw a big junior campaign. Burch also finished his sophomore season with just 2.5 TFLs and one sack in 13 games. Could Burch be in for something similar?

Pickens believes so: that both Burch and Jordan Strachan could be in for big seasons.

“They really stepped up a lot. They stepped up to the plate,” Pickens said. “I’ve been proud of Burch, really Burch, because this is really gonna be his first time ever really starting and not just coming off [the bench].

“With Burch, it’s a little easier because he played D-end. He’s got a little more space than I do. He’s been stepping up a lot in practice each day. … He knows what he’s doing, and he’s just perfecting it.”

While Pickens is already the established man in the middle, Burch is in need of becoming the man on the edge as he leads the race to replace Kingsley Enagbare and Aaron Sterling off last year’s squad.

If each former five-star and No. 1-ranked in-state player takes his game to the next level, South Carolina’s defense will undoubtedly do the same.