South Carolina’s defense is going to look a little different things season.

The Gamecocks are transition to a 4-2-5 defense under defensive coordinator Clayton White, which means a change to the nickel position some this season with the Gamecocks looking for a guy who can help in the pass and run game.

While the defensive back room isn’t full yet and has been dealt some injuries, the Gamecocks have tested out a handful of guys at the position.

“We have David Spaulding. He’s a true nickel and a guy from Georgia Southern. He came in with high football IQ and a true nickel,” White said. “We also have Jahmar Brown who’s more of a hybrid linebacker, big nickel kind of guy and a local guy who’s played the position. We’ve also tried Cam Smith and tried a lot of guys at that position.”

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Spaulding is in his first season with the program, coming over from Georgia Southern this offseason after a freshman season where he had seven tackles and a pick in four games.

Brown has some experience at this position, playing DIME linebacker last year under Will Muschamp and Travaris Robinson, a position that requires run-stopping ability as well as middle-field coverage skills.

Cam Smith is also widely considered to compete for starting cornerback snaps this fall as well.

The issue, though, is because the defensive back room is so thin right now, moving any one of those secondary pieces to the nickel just makes any of the other spots—safety or cornerback—even thinner.

White’s not concerned about finding a player who can play the “big nickel” spot as he called it but about building depth in the defensive backfield so he can train a few players there before the season.

“That’s a very flexible position as far as how the system is set up. If you can play one of the DB spots you should be able to understand the position. That’s not the concern but it’s about getting depth to move guys around,” White said.

“If you move a guy to nickel in the spring it’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Right now you have guys in different positions and guys are having fun with it. a lot of guys want to play that position and get to learning. It’s been fun.”

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The nickel position isn’t anything new in football or even at South Carolina, but its role in a 4-2-5 differs slightly than in maybe a typical five-man defensive backfield.

“You’re looking for a guy that has multiple talents and a very instinctive football player that can go out and cover who doesn’t mind mixing it up,” White said. “When I say cover, I mean slot receivers. It’s not just anyone. It’s covering slot receivers and doesn’t mind blitzing.”

The Gamecocks have two more practices left this spring, one on Friday and another this weekend as the team’s spring game, which is currently scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network Plus.