Looking at South Carolina's defensive tackles for the Gator Bowl
South Carolina will need a very good presence on the defensive line against Notre Dame. The Irish feature a dynamic rushing attack that poses a real threat.
The Gamecocks will be missing veteran Zacch Pickens who declared for the NFL draft in early December.
Here’s who will be carrying the load for the Gamecocks on the defensive front.
Tonka Hemmingway
Hemmingway made his mark for South Carolina this season. With Pickens out, Hemmingway slides into the primary tackle role for the Gamecocks.
Hemmingway’s played in all 12 games and started eight of them. He has recorded 21 tackles and four sacks which is second behind Pickens for defensive tackles.
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Hemmingway’s PFF numbers have been off the charts in 2022. During his first two seasons, he tallied 56.4 and 53.7 grades. Those numbers are night and day compared to his junior year where he earned a 75.9 grade.
Hemmingway’s highest grades came against Texas A&M and Missouri. He earned an 80.7 grade against the Aggies and an 82.4 grade against Mizzou.
He is going to be a big, if not the biggest piece for the South Carolina defense in stopping the run.
Boogie Huntley
Like Hemmingway, Huntley has played a valuable role for South Carolina in 2022. He’s likely going to be stepping into the starting lineup full-time in 2023 and it starts with the Gator Bowl.
Huntley played in 10 games and started two this year. He has tallied 17 tackles and a pass deflection so far and has a big opportunity to end the campaign strong in Jacksonville.
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Huntley’s PFF numbers were up and down in 2022. His best grade came against Clemson, where he earned a 67.6.
Huntley has struggled stopping the run this season but has a massive opportunity to change that narrative against Notre Dame. It will be exciting to see what he can do in a full-time role for the first time.
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M.J. Webb
Webb is the longest remaining tenured Gamecock with Pickens gone. The sixth-year super senior has one last chance to show out for the Garnet and Black.
Webb has appeared in 32 games during his South Carolina career and has notched two starts. He’s recorded 53 tackles as a Gamecock and has 14 on the year so far.
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Looking at Webb’s PFF numbers, he’s similar to Huntley in the way that his best game came against Clemson. He earned a 74.6 grade for his two tackles against the Tigers. He also earned a 71.1 against Texas A&M for his two tackles.
T.J. Sanders
The redshirt freshman Sanders will see a bigger role in the Gator Bowl due to the absence of Pickens. This year was the first season where Sanders made an impact after redshirting his true freshman season. He tallied 14 tackles in 12 games in 2022 while also making two starts.
Sanders has been such a big piece for South Carolina’s depth at defensive tackle. When Huntley was banged up early in the season, Sanders stepped up.
While the rest of the defense struggled against Florida, Sanders shined. He earned a 70.4 PFF grade against Florida and also has a 54.5 grade overall for the year.
All of these tackles are also going to need to step up in a big way if they plan on stopping Notre Dame’s dynamic rushing attack.
