What vaulted J.T. Ibe into a starting spot?

J.T. Ibe needed only a couple of weeks of practice to skyrocket up the depth chart.

Now he’s one of the Gamecocks’ starting safeties.

Ibe, who was limited the first few weeks of camp coming off a hip injury, used the last two weeks to vault up the depth chart and earn the second starting safety spot over Nick Harvey and Jamyest Williams.

“J.T., after being cleared, I think did a fantastic job of grasping our defense and what we do,” Will Muschamp said. “I like the physicality and urgency he plays with. Jam and Nick will both play as well, but certainly J.T. has earned the right to start.”

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Ibe has plenty of experience at the safety position, playing in 32 games with 26 starts over his three-year career at Rice before coming in as a graduate transfer this season.

Over that time, he picked up 121 tackles and had eight pass breakups.

It didn’t take long for him to start showing what he can bring to a team once he was cleared.

He started non-contact work two weeks after preseason practice started and caught on incredibly quickly to what the Gamecocks are trying to do defensively with the physical skills to back it up.

“J.T. flashes. I like just talking to him on the field. He’s just a smart guy. You understand a lot of guys have football knowledge and he’s one of those guys,” Bryson Allen-Williams said. “He understands and can break things down. If you miss something he’s able to talk to you in our football terms. It doesn’t sound like Chinese.”

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Ibe will start opposite Steven Montac at safety, ending one of the biggest position battles the Gamecocks had going into camp.

They originally were going to put Williams back there, transitioning him from the nickel back to safety. After some inconsistency, Harvey took reps back there as well.

One of the biggest reasons Ibe solidified the starting spot is his grasp on the Gamecocks’ scheme heading into the season.

Muschamp did say both Harvey and Williams will play; Harvey is listed as Ibe’s backup while Williams is second to Montac at the other safety spot.

“The game has slowed down. The biggest learning curve is just schematically, what we do, how we call things,” Muschamp said of Ibe. “Both he and Nick have done a fantastic job of learning what we do. They’re both extremely bright and I expect both of them to play well.”

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Harvey is the second graduate transfer the Gamecocks added this offseason, coming over from Texas A&M where he had 109 tackles in 38 games (13 starts).

He’s been working at safety as well as a few cornerback spots, adding versatility to a defensive backfield.

“I’m excited to see him play, too,” Allen-Williams said. “He’s a guy coming back; two fifth year seniors, we’re excited.”