How much man coverage will the Gamecocks play this season?

Every spring and every fall camp, the same topic always comes up when talking about the Gamecock secondary: when will man-to-man coverage be the norm and not the exception to the rule.

It’s been covered Ad nauseam since Will Muschamp and Travaris Robinson took over the defense four seasons ago, and this year could be the year they finally make the switch with Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu being a big reason why.

“We’ll be more man-to-man,” Robinson said. “Those guys are long, and can play a lot of bump and run. They’re talented and very confident in their abilities. I was fortunate enough at a few other schools to play with some of good corners. It’s a different deal when you can play with some corners like these guys.”

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Last year, the Gamecocks played man to man about 35 percent, Robinson estimates which is much lower than what he hopes to play entering this season.

“We probably want to get there somewhere in the 50 to 60 percent where we’re able to play man to man. If we’re really good at it, we’ll probably do it 80 to 90 percent,” he said. “It just depends on how we’re playing, the team we’re playing against and what we’re trying to do.”

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Man to man has some certain advantages, and it usually helps having All-SEC Freshman in Horn on one side and a 6-foot-4 with a seemingly 10-foot wingspan in Mukuamu on the other.

Those two will be tasked with anchoring half of the field and keeping some of the most prolific receivers in the SEC under their thumbs.

But ask their coach and defensive coordinator and he thinks they’re up to the task and like playing with that pressure on their shoulders.

“They’re lockdown and shutdown corners. We’re going to challenge them to go out there and play by themselves,” Robinson said. “If they’re really good, we’ll be good. If they’re not, we won’t. They know that and understand that, but those guys work like that,” “those guys handle business the right way.”

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The Gamecocks have been shooting to be a primarily man-to-man team since Muschamp took over, but also want to be able to mix it up depending on what team they’re playing.

When a corner is in man-to-man, he’s not paying attention to the backfield, which means it could leave the sideline open if the offense is running.

“We have to be careful with a bunch of man to man with teams running the ball because if we have our backs turned and they’re running the ball it ain’t a good idea. We have to do a good job changing it up a bit, doing some zone pressures to combat what the offense is doing.”