Gilber Edmond first brought up the term in a press conference, and it has stuck.

South Carolina’s defensive end who re-joined the program after a year at Florida State, and is part of what appears to be the deepest defensive line group the Gamecocks have had in the Shane Beamer era.

“He [outside linebackers coach Sterling Lucas] believes that everyone in the room could eat,” Edmond said. “He said he’s going to utilize hockey shifts and different things like that. I think we have guys who could handle that and come in with fresh bodies and still produce.”

What exactly does “hockey shifts” mean in football? It starts with the personnel. Edmond, Bryan Thomas Jr., Jatius Geer and Desmond Umeozulu are the returning defensive ends, all of whom played last season and bring some experience to the room.

Kyle Kennard brings 11 tackles for loss and six sacks at the power five level last season with him from Georgia Tech, and five-star true freshman Dylan Stewart might be the most talented player in the entire group.

“We’ve just been rotating every day,” Kennard said. “It’s some kind of like hockey shift, I’m sure y’all have heard that plenty of times. Different guys, different days, trying to see who works well with each other.”

Then you move to the middle, where the Gamecocks are a solid six deep. The top four defensive tackles off last year’s roster are all back with 234 career tackles and 13.5 sacks returning between Alex Huntley, Tonka Hemingway, TJ Sanders and Nick Barrett.

Former Pitt defensive tackle DeAndre Jules projects as more of a run-stopper further down the depth chart, and Alabama transfer Monkell Goodwine fits in more as a true interior pass rusher, the type of player you can expect to see in obvious passing situations.

They believe in the ability to mix and match, and they will.

“You will see six guys play on Saturday,” Beamer said about the defensive tackles. “Certainly, you’re going to see a deeper rotation than what you had last season. We have more depth, and we need to play more guys.”

There has always been talent in the room, but the thought — and the hope — is that this is the most depth there has ever been. It allows everyone to stay a little fresher, to take a few fewer snaps, to have a little bit more gas in the tank when the chips are down in crunch time.

Not only does it change the calculus on what those players can produce, it alters how the game can be approached. Specifically, it is a lifeline for defensive coordinator Clayton White. His playbook is more open, his options more varied and his aggression can be dialed up with this new group.

“It definitely changes what I can call,’ White said. “During scrimmages I saw the hockey shifts on the defensive line so I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s not drop them, let’s rush them because they’re fresh.’”

A hockey model generally means the same players playing together at once. In hockey’s case it is lines, in football it might be personnel groupings. But in theory, this type of substitution model defensively could mean you see full changes up front when players get tired, that three or four guys might sub simultaneously to get the next group on the field.

Is there enough depth to pull it off? For a team buiding its idenity around an older, more experienced defense, this might be the ultimate test. Can the Gamecocks really make mass changes up front on a series-by-series basis without a drop-off in production?

If yes, it would signify not only some proof of concept for this team's DNA, but also an ability to withstand injuries and the normal wear-and-tear a comes with a season. If there is a gulf in quality between the starters and the reserves, or if Old Dominion's up tempo offense causes some fatigue issues for a group which should be more immune to them, it would already throw some of the backbone of the 2024 season in doubt.

How exactly these combinations will shake out or who exactly will be playing in what situations will be one of many things to monitor Saturday, but even the notion of them is a sign of what South Carolina believes it has this year in comparison to previous ones.

“We all know we’re going to get in the game,” Huntley said. “So when you get in the game, it’s about doing the most with your reps. We’re not too focused on the exact amount or count, it’s just when we hear our name called, we go.”

They believe the depth is there. Time will tell how they use 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).