Chants encouraged by potential of young cornerbacks
The stats didn’t jump off the page last season for Coastal Carolina cornerback Denzel Rice like they did for some other players on the defense, but perhaps the best way to appreciate what the Chanticleers face in replacing the veteran is to look at what he’s doing now.
Rice has garnered strong praise from Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly in training camp this month and is looking like he might just be the next Chant to play in the NFL.
All the while, his departure no doubt leaves behind a considerable void – one of several – for Coastal Carolina to fill on defense this fall.
That being said, though, assistant coach Curome Cox doesn’t just believe the Chants have an answer to the their cornerback question – he thinks they has several.
“Finally for once since I’ve been here, we’ve got a lot of depth. Not as much experience as we may have had in the past, but depth,” said Cox, who is in his third year coaching the team’s corners. “I truly believe it will help us as a team and help each individual player the more [guys] we play. So right now, I’m telling them and I’ve talked to [defensive coordinator Clayton Carlin] about it, we don’t have really starters; we have guys that might be in the game at this [particular] point.”
And considering the buzz sophomore Dontay Hears and redshirt-freshman Anthony Chesley have generated this preseason, there’s a good reason to trust that is more than just coach speak.
The Chants already have one established cornerback to lean on in junior Kamron Summers, who finished the 2014 season strong and ended up with three interceptions and 10 pass break-ups to tie Rice for the team lead, and the prevailing sense is that coaches and teammates alike feel plenty comfortable with the other options at the position as well.
Finally for once since I’ve been here, we’ve got a lot of depth. Not as much experience as we may have had in the past, but depth.
CCU cornerbacks coach Curome Cox
Asked before the start of fall camp who might surprise Coastal Carolina fans this year, junior running back De’Angelo Henderson started by naming both Hears and Chesley.
Earlier in camp, Carlin offered his own praises of the young corners.
“They’ve had a great winter, a great spring and a great summer, they really have,” he said. “I’m very pleased with them. They both, especially Dontay who has been here longer than Tony, the switch has seemed to go on, so we’ll see.”
Hears, listed at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, played in 13 games last year while seeing some work on defense and also special teams, while Chesley, listed at the same size, redshirted his first season in the program. Cox also includes junior Samson Baldwin, who has significant experience having started 10 games as a rookie two years ago, in the mix for playing time there.
“Even with Kam being an experienced guy, the more I can get guys in and spell him so he’s not going 80 plays a game, the better he’ll be,” Cox said. “With Dontay, he played last year, Tony being new this year, if those guys don’t have to go the whole game, they can go in and keep that mental focus. I thought they both had tremendous springs. Dontay has had a good fall camp right now, so has Tony. So it’s really not a [defined starter].
“I truly hope we can count on both of those guys. I really want to play the most guys I can.”
Rice, primarily playing the boundary corner role for the Chants last season, didn’t have an interception as a senior, but he had the respect of the Big South coaches who voted him second-team all-conference the last two years.
Hears said knowing what the defense has to replace at that spot drove him to maximize his preparation entering camp this year.
“I knew it was some big shoes to fill, but it was nothing that scared me,” Hears said. “Freshman year I took a back seat. I didn’t have to watch film as much; now I realize I’ve got to stay on it, I’ve got to get the extra film in, I’ve got to take care of my body. ... I’m starting to step into some shoes.”
For his part, Chesley offered much of the same.
“I feel like hard work is getting me where I am right now,” he said. “... I feel like if I continue to do what I’m doing, the team will benefit from [my] hard work.”
As Cox put it, one day Hears will be working with the starters, the next day it will be Chesley. One will make a big play in practice and the other will follow suit.
Naturally, there’s a healthy competition between the two that they feel is productive.
“I feel like we’ve both just been grinding real hard and making each other better every day,” Hears said. “He’s making plays and [then] I’m making plays so we just go back and forth with that. We hold each other accountable and it helps keep us consistent.”
And again, if all goes according to the coaches’ plans, both will have ample opportunity to make their mark once the season starts.
Ryan Young: 843-626-0318, @RyanYoungTSN
Lewis III showing potential for Chants
Since he transferred into the program this offseason from Miami, fans have been especially interested to see how Ray Lewis III adapts with the Chanticleers.
Cornerbacks coach Curome Cox said he has seen encouraging flashes from Lewis, the son of legendary Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, but he is still looking for more consistency.
Overall, though, he is high on the 5-foot-9, 195-pound sophomore’s potential.
“He’s got he ability. Ray has to do the things consistently. We always talk about in the group, the difference between good and great is consistency,” Cox said. “We don’t need him to be good for one play; we need him to be consistent and he’ll be great. He has ability. Ray has to want to be great and he’ll be great if he can do that, but he has the skill set that can help us.”
Lewis didn’t see any game action in two years at Miami, but Cox said he sees the cornerback making progress since arriving in Conway.
“He tells us that he sees it differently,” Cox said. “Before he was told what to do and we as a group like to talk to them how to do it, and he says that’s helped him because he can slow the game down and focus on what he needs to do.”
Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com
This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Chants encouraged by potential of young cornerbacks."