Spring practice got underway for South Carolina on Tuesday as the Gamecocks look to build on what was a great start to the Shane Beamer Era in his first season as the program’s CEO.

Now, Beamer enters a monumental sophomore season as head coach, looking to build on a 7-6 campaign and take this team to what has the potential to be a breakout 2022 season and major building block for a program on the rise.

Today, as we continue our spring football coverage, we are diving into a position group that was the defense’s best unit in 2021 and has the makings of doing so again in 2022: the defensive backs.

Catch up on the rest of our spring practice breakdowns here:

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Transfers

Early Enrollees

South Carolina finished middle of the road in the SEC in both yards allowed per game and points allowed per game by surrendering 357.7 yards (No. 6 in the conference) and 24.3 points (No. 7).

But the passing defense was not at fault. It was the strength of a Gamecocks defense that allowed just 178.8 passing yards per game, second in the conference just behind Georgia’s historic defense that allowed 172.2 passing yards per contest. That’s compared to the 178.9 rushing yards per game that South Carolina gave up, which finished No. 11 in the SEC and led to middling overall production from the defense.

At cornerback, the Gamecocks have one spot locked down in second-team All-SEC member Cam Smith, who tallied three interceptions (second on the team) and a team-best 11 pass breakups in addition to allowing just 15 catches on 32 targets.

Smith looks to be the next in line behind guys like Stephon Gillmore and Jaycee Horn to carry on the legacy of South Carolina corners turning into stars and first-round NFL Draft picks. He is a bonafide All-American candidate and will find himself on one of the preseason All-SEC teams heading into the fall. According to Pro Football Focus, Smith is the No. 2-ranked returning cornerback in America behind LSU star Elias Ricks who transferred to Alabama.

Gone from the safety unit is star Jaylan Foster, who entered the NFL Draft after earning a first-team All-SEC selection last season. Those are big shoes to fill as the Gamecocks will need to replace their leading tackler (96) total and interceptions leader (five).

Beamer hit the transfer portal in earnest this offseason, adding seven players in a group that ranks among the country’s best hauls in the portal, stacking up against the likes of Oklahoma, LSU and USC.

Spencer Rattler is the headliner of that haul, but Devonni Reed has potential to have a significant impact for defensive coordinator Clayton White.

Reed enters the fray following a standout career at Central Michigan where the safety earned third-team All-MAC honors in 2020 and a second-team selection last season. He has already drawn big-time reviews early on from his time in Columbia, and he is the prime candidate to take over from Foster.

“He’s just a natural leader who has that ‘it’ factor about him,” Beamer said. “I’m really fired up about him. Everybody raves about him that’s around him already.”

The defensive backs should once again be a strength of Beamer’s team in 2021 with depth and key guys returning.

Two of the five defensive back spots (two cornerbacks, two safeties, nickel cornerback) are all but locked in with cornerback Smith and safety R.J. Roderick, who returns after starting 11 games and recording 64 tackles (fourth-most on the team) in 2021. And David Spaulding is the favorite to win the starting job at nickel after playing in all 13 games as a redshirt junior, including five starts.

Reed appears to be in line for the starting free safety spot opposite Roderick. But he will battle Tyrese Ross for the open spot, providing one of the more intriguing position battles to watch throughout the spring.

At the second outside cornerback spot, Darius Rush is the No. 1 candidate to start opposite Smith after starting in 12 of 13 games last season. Marcellas Dial will look to give Smith a run for his money after earning seven starts in 2021, but Dial is likely to be the backup by the time fall camp rolls around.

Torrian Gray returns for his second season as the Gamecocks’ defensive backs coach, which is another sign that South Carolina’s secondary should lead the way for White’s unit.

Gray is a proven commodity as a position coach, having developed 16 defensive backs who were selected in the NFL Draft from his 10 years as Virginia Tech’s secondary coach and two separate stints guiding Florida’s defensive backs.

Gray’s presence is at the heart of why South Carolina’s defensive back recruiting is in good position now and into the future. There should be plenty of confidence that the secondary will again be productive with him leading the way.