Everything Clayton White said before Jacksonville State

South Carolina Gamecocks defensive coordinator Clayton White spoke with the media on Wednesday.

USC football is continuing its preparations to host Jacksonville State on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Here is a transcript of White’s remarks.

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Q: Stone was in here yesterday, talked about some of the 3-3-5 stuff you’re doing on third downs. What do you like about that look and what do you think that can make that successful over this final month?

A: Well, one of the things that we want to continue doing here is just finding ways to get some of our instinctive football players on the field. And like I said, the defense that we have, we can almost do just about any single front or any team or any type of defense. And we found a way just to add that package, but it was also to get a little bit more speed on the field. And the guys liked it. They had fun and they enjoyed it. Had some success with it. Love to keep growing with it.

Q: Sticking with that, I guess, with Jaron Willis, specifically, what did you see from him in the 8 to 10 snaps, however many it was, that he was able to get for y’all?

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A: Yeah, well, the things that we’ve seen from Jaron was, obviously before the game, he’s been doing a good job of servicing our offense, representing other teams and their linebackers and their play. And so he showed up on special teams. Just, he’s just a young player that’s continued to grow. But what we see from him is just a natural football player that can run and hit. And he got in on that one. He got there, it was a tad late before BT (Bryan Thomas) got it out, but he got credit for it. He looked good on TV. And just, to me, it’s just, he’s the guy that has good size. He can run, he can fly, he can hit. Just to keep his overall football game growing.

Q: For Judge, getting his first start last week, just what did you see from him in that? And is that a spot where he might, you know, continue to contend as a starter? Well, you know, O’Donnell definitely is our guy. We had to, you know, he had to sit out the first half due to other reasons, but Judge does a really good job out there.

A: He’s out there, he’s a true freshman, learning the game as fast as he possibly can from Coach Gray, myself, and all the other coaches that we have. And from OD, and he’s learning from Marcel (Dial). I thought he did a good job in regards of just the moment and where we were and who we was playing. I’m proud of him, can’t wait to see him keep growing.

Q: Hey, Clayton, what was the discussion like last week with getting Bam and Jaron more involved? And what can their role be moving forward with this new package you guys have?

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A: Yep, to me, those guys are very similar when it comes to their skillset. Those guys are long, they’re athletic, they can run, you know, everybody has different traits, strengths, and weaknesses in their game. And we’re just trying to showcase them as much as possible. And that’s how it’s been with Bam, but it’s nice to have two of those kinds of guys. And obviously we can continue to grow that package. And, you know, it’s definitely not a every down package for us, but, you know, we love it and it’s fun and the players love it.

Q: Clayton, I asked Shane this on Sunday, but, you know, some of the good that you guys were able to take away from the other day, plus, you know, some of the things you’ve wanted to continue to see more of, what was that when you went back and watched the film after this one?

A: I would say the main thing is that our guys, just the way they play, it really was I mean, it was a lot of the same calls. Obviously we had a different little package. For the most part, it was the same calls and the same things that we normally do. We just did them better and we did them with more energy. We did them with more passion and we kind of, we really practiced with more passion last week, to be honest with you, and it carried over.

And our guys had a different mindset going into that game. It was a different mindset. It was darker than normal. And we just want to stay there as long as we possibly can, you know, and make sure we’re right there on that line of teetering and almost touching that line a little bit. But we want to make sure that we’re playing smart football and we can’t give up the big plays for a touchdown right before the half. That was disappointing. Very, a couple of drives in the second quarter, but for the most part, the way they played and how they wanted to fight and there was no give up. There was no, we didn’t care where the ball started at on, you know, field position. We didn’t care. So it was like, let’s go out here and play football. I mean, what else do we have to do? But we want to keep that up.

Q: What are your thoughts about what you guys have to deal with this weekend and what Coach Rodriguez likes to do with his offense?

A: Yes, it’s an up-tempo offense going against a veteran offensive coach. And our job really is to get the ball out of the field, to just continue to improve at practice every day, know our opponents very well, be an expert of the defense, the game plan, not just the defense, but understand what we’re trying to do.

They have athletic quarterbacks. They have speed all over the field. That’s what they are. They’re a fast football team. Those guys are coming here with nothing to lose and they’re going to have the mindset they want to come here and win, which that’s what you want to face every single Saturday, that kind of squad. They have challenges and we got to come out here and play. And the goal is to get better every single day. And then when Saturday gets here, we try to make sure we’re on point.

Q: Clayton, of the teams you’ve faced the last year or so, who does Jacksonville State’s offense most remind you of? T

A: Tennessee, in regards of just the tempo and just how fast they line up and how fast they, you know, they get their plays in and they do, they will do some check with me and, you know, just make sure that we, it’s more like Tennessee. Yeah.

Q: This might’ve been Shane and Pete alone, but were you brought in on the discussion for Jalon to be the punt returner? And if not, I guess, what do you like, what do you think makes him a good punt returner just from what you’ve seen of him defensively?

A: I was not brought in on the conversation, which, you know, once you become a defensive coordinator, I’m not, I haven’t graduated from special teams, but that’s one of the things that, you know, I’m not involved in those conversations. I’m a former special students coordinator myself. So I do listen, I do understand what’s going on, but it says a lot about Jalon Kilgore and his ability and his mindset. And not everybody can be a punt returner, you know what I mean? So it says a ton about the kid’s athletic ability and his overall just makeup. That should tell you a lot about a true freshman safety punt returner.

Q: You guys have a number of freshmen, young guys starting on your defense. How tough or not, like your scheme, is it easy for freshmen to pick up or, I mean, is it a challenge and you have to recruit the right type of kid that can come in, understand it and play as a true freshman?

A: It’s a great question. I like that kind of question. I feel like every system and particularly the system here, to me, there’s barriers at the very beginning of just getting them out of the high school mode that you don’t, it’s only three calls. You have probably red, white, and blue in high school. You know, we hit every color here, almost, if that makes any sense. But that is, once you get through the first barrier of this defense, to me personally, it’s my 10th or 11th year in the system.

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So I think it becomes very easy once you get through that first barrier. But a lot of freshmen come here and play in this defense, if you notice over the past couple of years and actually do well. So, and at the hardest position, which is safety, hardest position to learn as far as volume. And I think those guys do a great job in understanding the defense and understanding, you know, they don’t understand the big picture yet as far as what everybody’s doing, which that’s the goal. Some of the guys do, but that’s the ultimate goal. By the time, they leave here, they’re able to sit in front of Mike Tomlin and NFL coaches and draw up all 11 guys and show what everybody’s supposed to do. That’s the ultimate big picture goal. But right now those guys are learning their position and their side of the ball and the weekly game plans of the offense.

Q: Clayton, I asked Shane this yesterday and it’s not limited to just, you know, what took place with DQ Smith last week, but with the targeting rule, I think it was introduced in 2013 in terms of just the ejections. Would you like, as a defensive coordinator, to see some type of change in terms of, and what I used with Shane yesterday, maybe like in basketball, you have the flagrant run one versus the flagrant two. And, you know, just the challenges that you’ve seen over the years as trying to coach that up. And obviously DQ’s not trying to go in there and lead with his head and injure someone, but at the same time too, as you know, the head naturally is going to go in certain spots when you’re trying to tackle.

A: That’s a good one for sure. You got me with the basketball. You know, basketball season just started. So anyway, but yes, I think that’s a good point. I would love to see, you know, the targeting rule where, you know, for example, obviously he had his head was down, that’s obvious, but he didn’t go high. So he was more, it was more, they called it to protect him more than anything. To me, those should be just a half and he comes back. You know, if you go use your targeting and you go for his helmet, his head, and he’s defenseless, that’s different. You should sit out that quarter, that half and the next. That’d be nice to see that.

I mean, if he was just protecting himself, that’s why he got the flag. That’d be nice for that to be a half.

Q: Is it challenging though, to coach it? Not just his case, but just in general, just over the years.

A: Yep. When it first started, we always talked about it. We did drills to keep guys out of it. We just got to do a better job of coaching that technique. It’s just the bow of the neck and, you know, see what you hit. Obviously it’s definitely to protect all the players themselves. If the other guy would have had his helmet down and DQ had his helmet the way that was, that could have been very dangerous. So, you definitely don’t want him going down with your head like that. I mean, it was pretty low.

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