Where things stand at biggest question mark position for South Carolina football
When South Carolina moved former cornerback Chris Lammons from corner to safety before the 2017 season, it was for the reason of shoring up a position that was suddenly almost out of bodies.
Across four seasons with coach Will Muschamp, that group, which was short on bodies almost perpetually, was the best the program has had at the position.
Muschamp was asked about the state of his safeties this week in an interview with SportsTalk SC. The first place he went: A player who only spent part of last season as a true safety.
“Jammie Robinson had a phenomenal freshman year,” Muschamp said. “We’re going back through our cutups now and making teaching tapes for our players and our freshmen coming in. He played really well at the nickel and played really well at safety. He’s a really good football player.”
At times, players such as Robinson and Lammons have been used interchangeably at safety and corner. If the Gamecocks can develop someone to ably fill the nickel spot, it could allow Robinson to switch to safety full time.
And the coach still thinks his team needs help in those spots.
“We have to get better at the safety position,” Muschamp said. “We got to get more consistent. We had RJ Roderick, Jaylin Dickerson, when he’s healthy, can be a very productive player for us. He was healthy the five days of spring. Shilo Sanders made some strides in spring. Israel (Israel Mukuamu) can always move inside. We feel comfortable (with that). Joey Hunter is a guy we’re bringing in who is a freshman that we’re really excited about.”
Robinson finished third on the team with 62 tackles last season. Roderick was a starter who had ups and downs, as he’s a big hitter, but also only a few years removed from being a full-time quarterback.
Dickerson has never been able to stay consistently healthy, missing two full seasons.
If one among the group of Dickerson, Sanders or Hunter develops into a reliable rotation player, it would give the team a trio at the safety and nickel spots. If one of the young, talented corners develops, it could shift a starter in Mukuamu to help (plus cornerback starter Jayee Horn has a year of nickel experience).
Last season, USC lost struggling safety Jamyest Williams to transfer four games in. That left Roderick, a sophomore, and J.T. Ibe, who was inconsistent, along with Robinson chipping in. The year before, the Gamecocks moved multiple players to the position, but still found themselves throwing in green players to field a full lineup by season’s end.
Muschamp also delved into the situation with a defensive line replacing three starters, two picked in the top four rounds of the NFL draft.
A few notes from that:
▪ He liked the strides junior Jabari Ellis took. He didn’t play much early, but came on as the year progressed.
▪ In an ideal world, blue-chippers Rick Sandidge and Zacch Pickens would have redshirted. Neither was high impact last season, but both will need to step up with Javon Kinlaw departing.
▪ The staff wants defensive end Kingsley Enagbare, who was fourth in the team in sacks last season, to take a step forward and help with the edge presence alongside Aaron Sterling.
▪ Other outside guys who could help might be Brad Johnson, five-star Jordan Burch, freshman Tonka Hemingway, who could develop into a tackle.
▪ The staff is excited about four-star defensive tackle Alex Huntley, who has yet to enroll, and Joseph Anderson, who redshirted last season, did some nice things.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 5:22 AM with the headline "Where things stand at biggest question mark position for South Carolina football."
