On3 Roundtable: South Carolina prioritizing ability to stop the run in 2023

Playing football in the SEC, running the football and stopping the run can’t be part-time endeavors for a team serious about winning. Shane Beamer and his staff at South Carolina know this.

As such, defending the running and pounding the rock have been a point of emphasis for the Gamecocks all offseason. But as GamecockCentral’s Wes Mitchell explained in an On3 Roundtable with J.D. PicKell, it’s a task easier said than done.

“I think the question, obviously, is how do you change that from a focus into it actually playing out the way you want it to on the field. They’ve had some guys move on on the defensive front. They bring some guys back on the defensive front. They get Mo Kaba back, which I think is going to be big for them. A linebacker who got hurt in game two last year and was expected to have a big, breakout year for them. So yeah — Carolina fans are probably saying, ‘Both, J.D.’ Like the answer is both. But if I had to pick one, I’m going stop the run on defense. If you stop the run on defense, I think you then give that offense and Spencer Rattler and those guys an opportunity to go put up some points,” Mitchell said. 

In 2022, South Carolina ranked 117th nationally in rushing defense. The Gamecocks surrendered nearly 200 yards a game on the ground and nearly five yards a carry. Giving up 23 rushing touchdowns was probably lower than it could’ve been.

In seven out of 13 games, the Gamecocks gave up more than 200 rushing yards. Against Florida, Arkansas and Notre Dame, South Carolina gave up more than 250 yards, respectively. The Gators racked up an eye-watering 374 yards against the Gamecocks run defense. The Razorbacks punched in five rushing touchdowns.

After two-straight years of overachieving preseason expectations, South Carolina might quickly find these inefficiencies catching up to it. Not many teams can rank in the bottom quartile of rushing defenses and pull off winning seasons in the SEC year-to-year.

If the Gamecocks can beef up the run defense and not give up simple, easy yards to opponents, Mitchell likes the outlook for the defense. But it’s a decently big if for the run defense to make a reality.

But defensive coordinator Clayton White seems bound and determined to make 2023 different for South Carolina.

“Obviously old-school football, man, you gotta stop the run. You gotta be able to run the football. South Carolina, at various times, has had some issues with both. But I think for them, if you look at the last two years defensively, both seasons, their biggest issue on that side of the ball was just not being able to consistently stop the run. And I think if you asked the coaching staff what the primary, biggest concern or biggest priority for them this offseason, it would be to stop the run defensively. That’s what Clayton White told us when he spoke in the spring. And it’s been such a big focus for them,” Mitchell said.