Clayton White, South Carolina remain confident in DQ Smith after Week 1 struggles
The score was 7-0 in favor of South Carolina after it had just scored a touchdown two plays before on a one-yard rush from Rocket Sanders.
As Old Dominion looked to march down the field and tie the game, DQ Smith lined up over 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage. He was the Gamecocks’ last line of defense, and he was looking to thwart any deep pass Grant Wilson, the Monarchs’ quarterback, was attempting to throw.
Unfortunately for Smith, the ensuing play did not develop as planned.
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Wilson took the snap, reared back, and launched a pass that found Old Dominion wide receiver Isiah Page close to South Carolina’s 30-yard line. At this point, Smith was trailing behind Page in an attempt to catch him before he reached the end zone.
Page would eventually ran towards the sideline, giving Smith an angle to put himself between Page and the end zone. At around the eight-yard line, Page took a stutter step and cut towards the middle of the field, only to cut back towards the sideline a few paces later. Smith, now backpedaling, was unable to maintain his footing and fell to the ground.
Page then tip-toed along the sideline before lunging forward towards the end zone. His attempt was successful, and the Monarchs would find themselves back in the ball game. Fortunately, this miscue wouldn’t prolong as the Gamecocks ended up winning 23-19. But many have been critical of Smith’s first performance.
Despite those struggles, Clayton White does not believe Smith had a bad performance overall. Rather, Smith’s performance was just defined by a few mistakes.
“To me, DQ had a bad couple plays. We always try to make sure we talk about bad plays,” White said. “Just like saying, ‘You have a bad day – doesn’t mean you have a bad day in life.'”
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White considered Page’s 72-yard score and the second touchdown the Monarchs scored — a 36-yard rushing touchdown by Wilson on a fourth-and-seven play in the third quarter — to be the Gamecocks’ biggest defensive blunders on Saturday. And he did not place blame on his players for not executing in those moments.
Instead, he put it on himself to improve his coaching in similar situations.
“It was two mistakes that were inexcusable. Me, as the coordinator, I got to do a better job of making sure those things don’t happen by repping them and putting our guys in position because, obviously, the game could’ve went either way,” White said. “Those mistakes would’ve been part of the loss. But, now, we have to live and learn from them.”
White said Smith’s play did not stem from a consistent lack of effort or quality he saw leading up to the game.
“Two plays don’t make it a bad game, so he played well on other plays. His process of readiness for that game was on point,” White said. “But we also try to speak in different terms.”
White added that Smith will continue being a pivotal part of South Carolina’s secondary as the season progresses.
“We definitely want to keep his confidence up, keep him going,” White said. “He’s one of our best football players, by far. He’ll be ready to go this week.”
