Jamyest Williams knows he isn’t the tallest defensive back in the world, but he’s not worried about that.
Listed at 5-foot-8, Williams is the shortest scholarship defensive back on the Gamecocks’ roster but still finds a way to find the field and be an impact player.
“I got speed,” Williams said, flashing a smile. “If you’re short, you have to have speed.”
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He’s hoping that speed gives him an edge this fall while he makes the transition from nickel corner to one of the two starting safety spots this season.
As a freshman, he played in 11 games with six starts at that nickel spot. He had two interceptions, a fumble recovery, pass breakup and 38 total tackles in the secondary.
This camp, with the Gamecocks thin at the safety spot, he’s taking over and working with the first team as the coaches try to figure out the best combination of players in the defensive backfield.
“It’s been pretty smooth,” Williams said of the move. “What I feel like I’ve done well is just communicating with the secondary and communicating the call with everybody. We have to play fast and we have to deal with a tempo offense…We have to get the call faster.”
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Williams move was prompted after seeing what the Gamecocks were returning at the safety position, which wasn’t a lot of experience.
The only safety on the roster with experience was the other presumed starter this season in Steven Montac, who has eight career starts and has played in 21of 26 possible games.
So instead of putting a relatively inexperienced redshirt or true freshman back there, the staff wanted to put someone with in-game experience alongside Montac.
“He has really good instincts in man and zone. He has outstanding instincts,” Will Muschamp said of Williams. “He has a tremendous work ethic. He is extremely bright and he works really well in everything that he does. He has improved his communications skills.”
It’s that game experience that Williams is relying on right now to make sure his transition to safety goes as seamless as possible.
He already knows the defense after playing a lot last season and hopes his grasp of the defensive playbook helps in the move.
“It definitely helped me with the speed of game,” he said. “Now that I moved to safety it helped me with the concept now. I know what everybody’s doing now.”
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The Gamecocks have a few other options to work with in the safety rotation, including redshirt freshmen Tavyn Jackson and Jaylin Dickerson, two guys that were expected to contribute last year before injuries took their toll.
They also have graduate transfer J.T. Ibe, who came from Rice, that will compete for snaps once he gets cleared, which should be halfway through camp.
Regardless of who plays, the safeties in the game will all have the same grasp and knowledge of the system.
“You have to be smart. That’s probably the most important thing: you have to be smart and you have to be confident. That’s one of the things as a young player they’re not really confident like that yet. They’re scared to talk, they don’t want to say anything wrong,” defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson said. “We have to develop that trust.”
