Nick Barrett has chance to have 'really good year' for South Carolina
South Carolina knew for the most part who the top three defensive tackles were going to be heading into the season. With Tonka Hemingway and Boogie Huntley the presumptive starters, the battle centered in camp around who would likely be next to TJ Sanders on the depth chart.
Emerging from that battle as the winner to start the year is Nick Barrett, who bided his time and is now ready to take on a bigger role in 2023.
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“Nick, he’s a grinder. He’s constantly working. He’s a great player and a great person and one of those guys who does everything right,” Huntley said. “One of the strongest dudes on the team and he does everything right. That’s a great combo. Nick’s going to have a really good year this year.”
Barrett has done plenty of waiting to finally have a shot to crack the rotation. Largely a special teamer during his first two seasons at South Carolina, Barrett’s logged just 172 snaps over two seasons.
Last year he was largely reserve, playing in all 13 games–mostly on special teams–with 14 tackles. He finished with a 60 overall grade on PFF and a 68.2 tackling grade.
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He’s the heaviest defensive player (327) on the team–only offensive linemen are bigger than him–and could be a gap-plugger for a run defense that needs to continue improving.
“Stopping the run. That’s the number one thing,” Barrett said. “I feel like I’m a really good run-stopper. I feel like I can help bring that this year and help the guys around me.”
He’ll also get his first chance to show what he can do at South Carolina with a full year of experience behind him with consistency as the main focus.
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“Nick’s a great kid. He’s a quiet leader. He works very hard. He works hard in the weight room. He’s a really good student. He’s been involved in special teams since he’s been here,” special teams coordinator Pete Lembo said. “I spend a lot of time with Nick. I appreciate him. I’ve enjoyed seeing him grow and develop…He’s fun. That’s just a great guy to have in your program.”
He has two quality starters to learn from in Hemingway and Huntley, who’ve started multiple games for the Gamecocks. Now the biggest thing for him is being able to sustain during longer drives and being consistent down in and down out.
Barrett–along with the rest of the defensive tackle group–is in his first season learning under new position coach Travian Robertson. And Clayton White’s seen a positive impact early while learning from Robertson.
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“I think Coach Robertson has changed some things in the everyday living of those guys. I think that’s for the better,” White said. “Their mindset, athleticism and ability to go more than four or five plays are going to make a big difference. The main thing I’ve seen from TJ and Nick is dependability and accountability to do their job.”
Regardless of what the role looks like, Barrett is going to make an impact on this South Carolina defense in 2023 and thinks he can play a big part.
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“Being firm and stout on double teams, being able to take on bump combos, staying in your gap and playing primary to secondary,” Barrett said. “Then of course tackling. You have to finish on tackling.”
