Shane Beamer breaks down challenges with South Carolina's injuries

The South Carolina Gamecocks have had to deal with a handful of injuries, particularly in their secondary on defense. Despite that, the Gamecocks have held their own thanks to the emergence of some true freshmen stars. Head coach Shane Beamer recently broke down the challenges South Carolina faced early in the year because of injuries and how his freshmen have stepped up to the challenge.

“You have to be smart with what you’re asking them to do; there’s no question about it. And two of those freshmen we weren’t even sure (about). Nikki (Nick) Emmanwori, who’s playing great as a true freshman at safety, when he came in; we weren’t even sure if he was going to be a linebacker or safety for us, just because of his size. We started doing out at safety because of the lack of depth that we had back there going into the season, and now he’s starting,” said Beamer.

“And then DQ (DeQuandre) Smith, who is our nickel/safety, was a high school quarterback that had never played defense. And here he is, game two; he’s out there starting.

Emmanwori leads South Carolina’s defense in solo and total tackles. So far, he has recorded 37 total tackles, 31 solo, and six assisted. He also has one pass defended.

Smith has one of the Gamecocks’ eight interceptions on the season and has held his own tackling on the field. He’s recorded 19 total tackles, 12 solo, and seven assisted. Smith also has two passes defended to go along with his one interception on the year.

According to Beamer, while the two freshmen have played well, compliments must be paid to the rest of the defense for stepping up their game and making the underclassmen’s jobs easier.

“So you have to be smart with the situations you’re putting them in, for sure. But I’m proud of those two guys because the moment hasn’t been too big for them… each guy is different, and you gotta be smart with what you’re asking those guys to do. And then, everybody around those guys has to step up their games also and help those young guys. But for us, we’ve been fortunate that the freshmen that have had to play in the secondary, the moment hasn’t been too big for them, and they’ve been fantastic.

Next for South Carolina is a matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies at home. Although the Gamecocks are at home, ESPN’s matchup predictor gives them just a 45.3 percent chance to win on Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 6:30 PM CT kickoff time and can be seen on ESPN’s SEC Network.