The state of USC’s secondary: Muschamp promises a talented but young group in 2019
Will Muschamp made a small-scale declaration about the state of South Carolina football’s secondary in 2019.
“We’re going to be young,” Muschamp said on the February singing day, “but we’re going to be talented.”
There’s a good case for the second part. There will be four blue-chip defensive backs on the roster, plus a few talented second-year players who already showed something on the college level and a set of incoming recruits the staff seems high on.
And it appears clear that a lot of those players will have to step into roles.
Defensive back is the specialty of Muchamp and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson, but the Gamecocks have faced rockiness in those spots. The first Muschamp team was down to basically five defensive backs by year’s end, including a junior college player who didn’t arrive until after August camp started.
South Carolina had to move a top corner to safety to patch a spot the next year, but the group was solid playing five or six players. Then a veteran group could never get established in 2018 before getting torn apart by injuries.
So in three years, secondary depth has been a constant question and recruiting success has been uneven.
The 2016 class
▪ Jamarcus King: The four-star junior college corner showed promise early but was ultimately an inconsistent player across two seasons. He was a starter and played most of the snaps for a team that usually needed them.
▪ Chris Smith: He never played and took a medical redshirt.
▪ Steven Montac: Enrolled late but ended up a constant presence in 2016 and 2018. He had some struggles as a senior in run support and against bigger players but seemed to get the most from his talent.
The 2017 class
▪ Jamyest Williams: A highly-rated recruit and inconsistent freshman starter, he moved to safety last year and got hurt in the latter half of the season. Hasn’t yet settled as a consistent presence in the secondary.
▪ Keisean Nixon: A junior college transfer who hardly played his first year and finished out with an up-and-down senior season.
▪ Kaleb Chalmers: A former Clemson player, he didn’t play his lone year on campus and left the team.
▪ Jaylin Dickerson: Muschamp has praised his talent, but injuries have hindered his development. Played at points last season, showing flashes but looking green.
▪ Tavyn Jackson: Left the team because of a sickle cell condition. Might transfer and play for another school.
▪ Zay Brown: Moved to linebacker and has yet to play.
The 2018 class
▪ Jaycee Horn: Started as a true freshman and has the makings of a star.
▪ Jonathan Gipson: Played in a few games as a freshman while redshirting.
▪ Israel Mukuamu: A solidly rated recruit, showed promise as a 6-foot-4 corner and might be an answer at safety if the Gamecocks can’t find consistency.
▪ R.J. Roderick: The lowest-rated recruit in his class and a bit of a developmental player as a former quarterback, he earned a starting safety spot and showed ability as a true freshman.
▪ J.T. Ibe: A Rice grad transfer who earned a starting spot, didn’t take full hold of the job and missed the final nine games with a knee injury. Will receive a medical redshirt season and is back at USC for 2019.
▪ Nick Harvey: A Texas A&M grad transfer who couldn’t break into the lineup, he saw concussions end his season and will transfer after getting a sixth year of eligibility.
▪ Jamel Cook: A 6-foot-4, four-star Southern Cal transfer who sat out last season.
Of those 16 players, eight are still playing defensive back and only two joined the team before last season. The secondary will include one sixth-year senior, one true junior, one redshirt sophomore and no other scholarship players who arrived before January of 2008.
The team does have a place to start from.
Horn, Mukuamu and Roderick showed the ability to hold their own after seeing serious snaps last season. Williams and Dickerson still have time, as does Ibe. Gipson and Cook haven’t yet had a chance to show their skills.
Unless some of those players assert themselves, however, it appears someone from the incoming group of Cam Smith, John Dixon, Shilo Sanders and Jammie Robinson will have to take on some role.
Of those 16 players, at least seven saw or were supposed to see notable roles in Year 1, and six started for some stretch.
Muschamp got Dixon and Smith in the early signing period, and spoke highly of both. Back then he needed more young players to add to a young secondary, and he felt he got the ones he wanted.
“These guys are all guys we pinpointed in the process,” Muschamp said. “You look at coming out of December, like I said, if there’s two defensive backs we wanted it was Shilo and Jammie and we were able to sign both of those guys today. That helps our class tremendously. You add them to John and Cam, who we’re extremely excited about. I think it’s a very good class
“Again, time will tell how good.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2019 at 12:44 PM with the headline "The state of USC’s secondary: Muschamp promises a talented but young group in 2019."
