Spencer Rattler is no longer wearing a Gamecock uniform, but he is well aware of the challenge South Carolina has to contend with on Saturday at Kentucky.
Specifically from Deone Walker, Kentucky’s imposing defensive tackle with an NFL future and a college quarterback destroying present.
“Number zero is probably the best defensive tackle I’ve seen going against,” Rattler said after last season’s 17-14 win over Kentucky. “The dude is a monster, he created a lot of havoc for us in the run and pass game.”
“Number zero” is back for his junior season in Lexington, and everyone knows what that means. In his two career games against South Carolina he has recorded 11 tackles with a sack and a tackle for loss, nine of which came in a dominant performance at Williams-Brice Stadium last November.
He is the type of player you have to account for prior to every single snap, and will be a significant upgrade from anything South Carolina’s offensive line had to block last week in the season-opener against Old Dominion.
“He is arguably the best defensive tackle in the entire conference,” Shane Beamer said. “He can absolutely wreck your entire game plan. Not like mess up a play, he can wreck your entire game plan. He is a load to handle.”
Even with some tangible positive points — most notably 174 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground — South Carolina’s offensive line struggled mightily in week one.
There were issues with pass protection, leading to quarterback LaNorris Sellers getting sacked four times. There was a possession late in the fourth quarter where the offense had a chance to ice the game with two first downs, but a three-and-out left the door open for the Monarchs. And there were significant issues finishing drives, four field goal attempts on drives which reached at least the Old Dominion 30-yard-line plus another stalled-out drive in plus territory leading to a punt.
It was a worrying reprisal of last season’s blocking woes. And this time, there is no cloak of injuries to hide behind.
“Communication is always the key,” starting center Vershon Lee said. “Making sure I communicate with my guys, making sure everybody knows the way and knows where they’re supposed to be. When the communication went well, the play went well. When the communication wasn't the best or I didn't communicate it to my guys, it wasn't the best."
Clearly, the runway for improvement is already short. Even beyond just Walker, Kentucky returns nine of its other 10 starters on defense including its entire defensive line. It was a front which largely bullied South Carolina last year even in a losing effort, holding the Gamecocks to just 50 rushing yards on 33 attempts and recording six tackles for loss.
Nobody is even pretending like last week is good enough, and a reprisal of the week one performance at Kentucky would all but eliminate any chance of moving the ball offensively or staying in the contest.
“We had a lot of mishaps that we don’t want to see happen again,” Lee said. “We’re taking pride in just understanding that we have to pick it up. We have to be the group to stand up. We’re taking it well. We’re trying to fix the wrongs and keep going with the rights.”
Ready or not, here come the Wildcats. Ready or not, here comes big, bad Deone Walker and the rest of one of the most vicious defensive fronts in the SEC.
If there is an opportunity to prove this group really is better than last year, that week one was just an aberration, this is it.
*************************************************************************
Want 2 months free on your Rivals subscription? Refer a friend and they'll get 50% off their first year while you get 2 months free, and the best part? You can do it as many times as you want. Just use your custom referral link on your subscriptions page (linked above).
