Clayton White, South Carolina defense seeing results with newly-installed packages
South Carolina’s defense has had its struggles this year. But with each game, Clayton White is looking for ways to make adjustments, one of which is running some new packages.
“One of the things we want to continue doing here is finding ways to get some of our instinctive football players on the field,” White said. “The defense we have, we can almost do any single front on any team with any type of defense.”
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When the Gamecocks faced Texas A&M last week, they ran a 3-3-5 defense, which came with some good results. They forced three punts and had three sacks in the first quarter.
“We found ways just to add that package. It was also to get a little bit more speed on the field,” White said. “The guys like it, they had fun and enjoyed it. Had some success with it.”
With the new package, it allowed Jaron Willis and Bam Martin-Scott — two guys who hadn’t played that much — to get involved.
“To me, those guys are very similar when it comes to their skillset. Those guys are long and athletic, they can run. Everyone has different traits, strengths and weaknesses in their game. And we’re just trying to showcase them as much as possible.
“That’s how it’s been with Bam but it’s been nice to have two of those guys. And obviously, we can continue to grow that package and it’s not an every down package for us. But we love it, it’s fun, and the players love it.”
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It ended up working out well. Martin-Scott had one hit on the quarterback, while Willis had a sack.
“(Willis) is just a young player that’s continuing to grow. But what we’ve seen from him is just a natural football player that likes to run and hit,” White said. “He got in on that one, he was a tad late before (Bryan Thomas Jr.) got it out but he got credit for (the sack) and looked good on TV.”
But there’s still been some issues defensively. While the defense had a great opening quarter, the Aggies put up 21 points in the second quarter to take the lead the rest of the way.
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The Gamecocks bared down in the second half, though. They didn’t allow another touchdown the rest of the game and held Texas A&M to three field goals.
“We want to make sure we’re playing smart football. We can’t give up the big plays for a touchdown right before the half, that was disappointing,” White said. “For the most part, they played how they want to fight. There was no give up. We didn’t care where the ball started at with field position, we didn’t care. It was like let’s go out there and play football.”
