JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When South Carolina defensive back DQ Smith scooped up a block punt and returned it for a touchdown in his first career college game back on Sept. 3 against Georgia State, it was a sign of things to come.

Smith, a true freshman who actually played quarterback in high school, was not a highly-rated recruit, but worked his way onto the special teams unit in time for week one. But the more the Gamecocks lost in the secondary due to injury — RJ Roderick, Cam Smith, Darius Rush, David Spaulding and Devonni Reed all missed time at various points in 2022 — the more chances Smith got to play.

“When I finally made the change I got right to work immediately,” Smith said about moving over from quarterback. “It was kind of an easy change for me, because I was always an athlete. I just put in time and work. And then learning from Cam and Rush, and then Coach [Torrian] Gray is the best DBs coach in the country, so it was definitely an easy adjustment.”

Now with almost his entire freshman season under his belt, he has become a mainstay of a budding secondary. He is fourth on the team in tackles, second in solo tackles and filled up the rest of the stat sheet with an intercepted, a forced fumble and a sack scattered throughout the season.

And with those increased snaps has come more of a responsibility to be a defensive leader, even as one of the youngest players on the field.

“It was something I had to build over time,” Smith said. “From being a quarterback in high school you always had that. Being on defense it came over time, but it was kind of natural to me as well being able to talk and make sure guys are on the same page.”

Smith is not the only freshman who has seen personal growth since week one. Linebacker Stone Blanton is also a true freshman who has had the fortune of playing behind two guys with a combined 12 years of college football experience in Sherrod Greene and Brad Johnson.

Unlike Smith who was thrown into the fire almost immediately, Blanton has had more time to slowly develop and work his way into the rotation. He played in all but one regular season game, but never as a starter compared to Smith’s 10 starts.

The flip side of this though is that after Greene and Johnson graduate, Blanton will be one of the central figures in the linebacking corps next season.

“Those boys have helped me up so much,” Blanton said. “I'm going to miss these guys tremendously. Those guys are great leaders. They really help you out mentally, physically, and they really give you lessons and life. And then there's another guy, [injured linebacker] Mo Kaba, who has helped me a lot through the season.”

And although he was on the roster in 2021 and is technically a redshirt freshman, T.J. Sanders played in 11 out of 12 games this season after only checking into two last year. Last year he had zero tackles, and this year he had a dozen with a sack.

He could play even more in the bowl game due to defensive line attrition, and think he has developed more throughout the season physically as much as anything else.

“I feel like size for one,” he said about his biggest growth throughout his first year of regular action. “I'm bigger than what I was when I first started the season. I feel like that's going to help me.”