Everything Sterling Lucas said about South Carolina spring football practice on Monday

South Carolina defensive ends/outside linebackers coach/defensive run game coordinator Sterling Lucas met with the media on Monday to discuss the progress of his group in spring practice so far. Here’s everything he had to say.

Opening statement

“I just want to start out, I feel like I say this every year, which I do, shout out to the women’s basketball team, making it to the Final Four again. That’s just a testament to Coach Dawn Staley and what her staff has built here at the University of South Carolina.

“We’re five practices in. Really pleased with the production in the room. We do a production game every week where we track TFL, sacks, pursuits. I know you guys heard me say before that we want to lead the SEC in everything, so we track pursuits as well. And I’m really pleased with the production. We do a weekly, so Bryan Thomas won it this week. He actually beat Dylan Stewart by two points. So he wasn’t happy about that. But one of our core values in the program is competition. So we track that every week. Another thing, you know, just out recruiting, I heard a high school coach refer to the weight room as the bully room, right? The bully room. So that’s one of our mantras in the weight room this year, you know, getting in the bully room. So our guys did a great job. Shout out to our strength coaches, getting those guys bigger, stronger, faster. BT, Dylan, JT, Dez, Jaylen Brown, transfer from that came from here, from Missouri. Wendell Gregory got bigger, stronger, faster. Even our young guys, Quay Dodd and Anthony Addison. So that’s just a testament to those guys. And that was actually evident, you know, we do this mock combine every year, and all those guys’ numbers got better. So that’s a testament to their hard work and the work the strength coach has been putting in with them.”

Who’s the biggest bully in the EDGE room?

“To be determined. We got, I mean, we want to have a room full of, but we want all of them to be bullies. But that’s for me to determine who the biggest one is, though.”

It’s pretty evident when we get to watch Bryan Thomas Jr. playing that he plays so hard with a lot of effort. Is that his biggest asset just how tough he is, how hard he plays on game day?

“Yeah, I think so. I think he plays with a chip. He might not be as big as some of the other guys, but I think he plays with a chip, and he plays extremely hard, man. And going into his fourth year, I really believe he’s putting it all together this year.”

What’s the difference between where Dylan Stewart was this time last year and where he is today?

“I think for one, just taking the next step in terms of preparation. As a freshman just coming in, you just want to learn. At least want to get him to learn what his responsibilities are. But this next year, really taking the next step and going big picture. So I think that’s helped him a lot. And just what I mentioned, the weight room, man, we really emphasized that this past offseason. I think you’ll see that show up in his game.”

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What have you seen from Jatius Geer this spring? He’s obviously been here for a little bit now, but how’s he looking so far?

“He looks healthy for one. He looks fast. He’s playing fast. He’s more explosive. So those are the kinds of things that show up. But I’m excited about Jatius, for sure.”

What kind of stands out about Jaylen Brown so far as from where he was when he got the campus and where he is now?

“Just his position flexibility, man. I think he’s about 270 (pounds). Right now, I think he might be the biggest guy. He is the biggest guy in the room, as far as weight. Just position flexibility, him being able to play on the EDGE and being able to do some things interior-wise, from a pass rush standpoint. I’m really excited about Jaylen.”

How have the young guys adjusted from high school to college football so far?

“It’s an adjustment, as you would expect, but they’re doing a good job. The first day, they had to get used to how we practice at South Carolina. And I think Coach (Shane) Beamer does a great job in our team meeting room of explaining that. And then if you’re not upholding the standard, he’ll show those plays as well. So we had some young guys whose plays showed up in the team meeting room. You never want that. That’s an embarrassment, right? It’s embarrassing to the room, an embarrassment to you. So they course-corrected that pretty quick. But they’re doing a good job.”

How have you seen Desmond Umeozulu work to take that next step, now heading into year three in the program?

“I’m super proud of Dez, man. You’re talking about bully ball, I mean, he’s taking the next step. His explosiveness, just everything about him, man. I’m super proud of Dez, and I’m looking forward to great things from him this year.”

You guys got national attention last year in the EDGE room. Were there schools trying to come after you, offering you different jobs? And what made you want to stay at South Carolina in the same spot?

“I mean, I want to be at South Carolina because, for one, what Coach Beamer’s built, right? And we did get some national attention. And I think that’s very appealing to these recruits out here as well. But yeah, I mean, this is a great place. Great culture. We plan on winning national championships right here.”

Obviously, Wendell Gregory played some defensive end in high school, but started out as a linebacker. When he made that switch, was it kind of a natural move for him to get back to that position?

“Yeah, absolutely. Again, I think Wendell is a guy with some position flexibility as well. He could play linebacker, he could play edge. But yeah, absolutely. I think playing in high school, he mainly played edge, so it was kind of seamless for him, for sure.”

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