Smith stepping up in first two games

Entering training camp, if Shane Beamer was asked about Cam Smith and his availability for the first two weeks of the season, he probably wouldn’t have thought Smith would even been suited up for most of it.

Dealing with a foot injury and confined to a boot for part of preseason practice, it wasn’t a forgone conclusion Smith would even suit up in the opener and maybe not even before SEC play started.

Not only has Smith played after motoring through his rehab, he’s been one of the most impactful players on the team and one of the better defensive backs in the league through two weeks.

“Cam’s been great. I’m really proud of him. He had injury over the summer and didn’t know how productive he’d be early in the season but he’s been dynamite,” Beamer said. “He’s really good from a coverage standpoint and impressed with his physicality he’s played with as well in the run game and being able to come up and tackle people. He’s got to continue to play well, and I’m confident he will.”

Also see: What has and hasn't worked in the Gamecock run game

Through two games Smith has the best PFF coverage grade in the entire country among cornerbacks (92.9) regardless of snap counts.

Smith’s logged 72 snaps so far this year and is currently third on the team in PFF grade and is tied for the team lead in run stops, unique from a cornerback perspective.

He’s only been targeted four times in 37 coverage snaps, having allowed just two receptions for 11 yards and just two yards after the catch and a team-best three pass breakups.

Quarterbacks have a 56.3 passer rating when targeting Smith’s receiver.

“He’s feeling himself. That’s a really good thing. Whenever you’re feeling yourself, you’re confident,” Dakereon Joyner said. “With him playing confident it helps him plays at a high level, and I think he’s playing at a very high level right now. He’s continuing to grow and embrace his role.”

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Smith took two years to really come into his own, battling putting weight on and being consistently playing behind Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu, both in the NFL now.

Now, as he gets further away from his injury, could entrench himself as one of the Gamecocks’ go-to corners while bringing along more of the new defensive backs..

“He’s given us an opportunity as someone who can go out and play a lot of snaps against really good receivers,” Clayton White said. “(Marcellas) Dial and (Darius) Rush are doing a really good job, but Cam’s brought those guys along. He has a little bit more experience, but it’s nice having him back there.”

The next step is to get Smith—who was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against ECU—to channel his passion and excitement better.

“Cam means a ton to us. He brings the passion and the energy,” White said. “We just have to do a great job in the program of understanding the process of channeling the passion and energy in the right direction. That’s going to continue to take all of us to get that done.”

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Smith’s been a big piece for a Gamecock secondary playing well through two games. Competition will tick up this week against No. 2 Georgia, but South Carolina already has four picks (two by Rush), is third in defensive pass efficiency.

“This is something we’ve prepared for since the spring. We’ve been counted out as saying, ‘This is going to be an undisciplined secondary,’” Rush said. “But with the preparation we put in each week we have to go out there and play and show we are a very good secondary.”

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