South Carolina defensive front looking for depth in thin group
South Carolina’s edge and defensive tackle rooms entered the offseason knowing they had to replace key contributors across the defensive front.
Then, Wendell Gregory entered the transfer portal and Jaylen Brown suffered an injury that will sideline him for the remainder of the spring.
“We were already a little bit thin to begin with before spring practice,” Beamer said. “And then we lose Jaylen, Wendell decides to transfer. Now an already thin group is even thinner with two guys down, or gone for now.”
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South Carolina ranked 6th in team sacks in 2024 while also ranking inside the top 30 in team tackles for loss. However, the Gamecocks graduated their leader in both categories in Nagurski winner Kyle Kennard. South Carolina also two players who finished fourth and fifth on the team in sacks, TJ Sanders and Tonka Hemingway.
The Gamecocks have key returners in Monkell Goodwine and Dylan Stewart on the interior and exterior of the line, respectively. However, that doesn’t make Shane Beamer less worried about the position groups’ depth.
“We’ve got some young guys right now that are going through spring practice that we have high expectations for,” Beamer said. “But I don’t feel great about the position right now, not the talent in the room, but just the depth in the room.”
While there have been big losses on the exterior, the losses on the interior are even more paramount.
The defensive tackle room graduated 1,505 snaps from its 2024 group with the departures of Alex Huntley, Sanders, Hemingway and DeAndre Jules. Goodwine and Nick Barrett are the only returners from a scholarship standpoint. The pair played a combined 245 snaps in 2024.
The players who left the position room didn’t leave before providing lessons to Goodwine and Barrett.
“Tonk do everything right. Like he lives in the building,” Barrett said. “…From TJ I learned just having that killer instinct. He just goes out there and does what he says he’s gonna do. Just dominates.”
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With Goodwine and Barrett being the only returners, Goodwine said he feels a sense of needing to step up. He also called Barrett a “general of the d-line group.”
“Pretty much as the leader. Setting the example,” Barrett said of the nickname. “I’ve been here the longest, I know the defense like the back of my hand. Really just coaching guys up, leading the way.”
Goodwine said the group is looking for their personality in the room.
“Who’s gonna be the two guys to make the most noise,” Goodwine said. “I think overall, for the whole entire interior d-line, I think things (have) been good for us for the spring.”
The EDGE group, on the other hand, is looking for its biggest “bully.” The group plays a production game every week that involves tracking TFLs, sacks and pursuits.
“I know you guys heard me say before that we want to lead the SEC in everything, so we track pursuits as well,” Sterling Lucas said. “…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.”
Overall, it’s about getting the defensive line together, one piece at a time.
“We need to get our defensive tackle position solidified, and who those guys are going to be,” Beamer said. “And then we need to get that edge position solidified.”
