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What South Carolina can learn about thin DB group this spring

Jaylan Foster arrived on South Carolina’s campus in 2017 and can’t remember a spring where he had this many reps in practice as a defensive back.

Because of injuries and a handful of players who haven’t arrived on campus yet the Gamecocks’ defensive back room is sparse this spring, giving the guys who are already in Columbia plenty of chances under defensive coordinator Clayton White and defensive backs coach Torrian Gray.

Photo by Katie Dugan
Photo by Katie Dugan
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“You get a chance to see the things you do good and things you do bad,” Foster said. “Work on those bad things so when game day comes you don’t have any weaknesses.”

This spring the Gamecocks have 10 scholarship defensive backs on the roster but not all of those 10 are available on any given day because of some bang ups and injuries.

There are also three more defensive backs set to enroll this summer as well in high schooler La’Dareyen Craig and transfers Carlins Platel and Isaiah Norris.

With such a limited room it can be hard at times to gauge the group as a whole, but this spring is giving the Gamecocks a chance to evaluate the players on the roster they have and how they could impact things this fall.

“What you can see is the guys out there the execution,” Shane Beamer said. “Can they get lined up? Can they execute the call that coach White has called? Can they execute what coach Gray’s asking of them from a technique standpoint? Can they do their job? Can they play physical?”

The Gamecock secondary room is relatively young and light on experience with only two players having started consistently in their careers: Foster and RJ Roderick.

They have some inexperienced returning players like Cam Smith, Dominick Hill, O’Donnell Fortune, Darius Rush and Joey Hunter while bringing in newcomers this spring in David Spaulding and Marcellas Dial.

Because of some depth issues the Gamecocks’ can’t field a third-team secondary at the moment in White’s 4-2-5 defense as the coaching staff continues to evaluate what it has at the moment.

"Communication is key to make sure we’re all on the same page and executing the call and all 11 of us are doing what we’re supposed to be doing with getting guys lined up. From the naked eye, watching on first glance I thought they did a good job of that and that’s something you can see,” Beamer said.

“Then the mental and physical toughness cause they’re taking a lot of reps because we don’t have a lot of guys out there. It’s not like they’re getting many blows during the scrimmage. We’re trying to take care of them but they’re working hard. You’re seeing how important it is to those guys.”

South Carolina’s secondary struggled last season, allowing 256.1 yards per game and over 6.3 yards per pass attempt.

“As players you always hear the noise. That’s something you take to practice every day so you can get better day in and day out,” Foster said. “You can’t really worry about it cause they are the ones on the field. We’re the ones on the field. As long as we go out there and put in the work we’ll be good on game day.”

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