Marcellas Dial confident entering season as likely starter at cornerback
If his words didn’t show it, Marcellas Dial’s facial expressions Wednesday in South Carolina’s media room did.
Speaking for the first time during preseason camp, Dial couldn’t contain his smile for most of his five-minute interview while talking about his impact on the team and the confidence he has entering the season.
“This year, I feel like I can play with the best of them. I feel like I have the confidence I need to go into the season and feel like I can be a bigger contributor to the team this season than I was last season,” he said. “I want to do bigger and better things this year.”
And if Dial is expecting bigger and better from himself, then it will likely mean good things for the Gamecocks.
The junior college transfer played in all 13 games last season, making seven starts at cornerback.
He finished with 33 tackles and six pass breakups, third-most on the team.
Shane Beamer mentioned Dial as one of South Carolina’s five best defensive backs, and it seems likely he’ll be in the starting lineup against Georgia State.
“Coach Beamer saying that about me gives me a lot of confidence going into this season. I’ve been repping at corner mostly, but me and Cam (Smith) have been alternating,” he said. “I’m probably going to be starting at corner.”
Dial is coming off a quality first year in the program. He allowed just 19 receptions on 39 targets for 209 yards. Quarterbacks had just a 65.0 passer rating when targeting his receiver.
Coming into year two in defensive coordinator Clayton White’s system, he’s ready to up his production that much more.
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“I feel like I learned a lot last season. Going into this season, I know I have all the experience I need,” he said.
“I feel like I can make the plays I missed or the bang-bang plays last year that I was there for but I didn’t make. I learned I can make any play that comes my way and any play I have to make I will make.”
Dial will be part of a secondary that saw vast improvement last season and is hoping to build on it even more in 2022.
The Gamecocks seem to have their starters figured out with Dial and Darius Rush at corner followed by Cam Smith at nickel. Devonni Reed and RJ Roderick are the projected starting safeties.
It’s a secondary with plenty of experience in it; Dial has the fewest career starts with seven but everyone else in the secondary has at least 10.
And all of them already love playing in White’s system as they enter year two.
“It’s aggressive. As DBs, we get to put the game into our own hands playing man coverage all the time,” Dial said. “Basically it’s us against the receiver all the time. That’s what makes it fun.”
