South Carolina set to rely on new group of 'physical freaks' in linebacker room

1,628 snaps. That’s what South Carolina has to replace at linebacker this season.

So much talk this preseason has been and will continue to be about the Gamecocks losing most of their defense from 2024. Seven starters are gone, including the team’s top three linebackers.

Replacing the likes of Debo Williams, Demetrius Knight Jr. and Bam Martin-Scott is not an easy task. Not only did they play a lot of snaps last year, but they had plenty of experience and were three of the team’s top four leading tacklers.

It may sound like South Carolina is losing a lot here, which, of course, they are. There’s no denying that. But heading into this season, the Gamecocks will be relying on a new group of linebackers to step up, and they feel they have what it takes to do just that.

“I think we’ve got some physical freaks in the linebacker room,” Shawn Murphy said. “I think we’re very aggressive. We’re fast, very physical. I feel like we do a lot of good things, and we’re all on the same page when it comes to everything.”

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In the offseason, South Carolina went into the transfer portal to fill its voids at the position and brought in Murphy, who previously played at Alabama and Florida State. It also landed Justin Okoronkwo, another transfer who also played at Alabama, though not at the same time as Murphy.

Jaron Willis and Colin Bryant are also back for another season as two of the older veterans in the room.

Then there’s the key returner that everyone was raving about towards the end of last season. Players and coaches were saying his potential was “off the charts” and that “he will be great.”

That player? Fred “JayR” Johnson.

Johnson, who’s entering his second season with the Gamecocks, played in all 13 games last year. But he only made six tackles as he spent a lot of time on special teams with a crowded linebacker room filled with veterans. But there’s a lot about him that South Carolina likes, and it’s easy to see why with his 6-foot-3, 244-pound frame.

“He’s a freak,” Murphy said of Johnson. “He’s athletic, he’s fast, he’s physical. He does everything right. He’s a good football player.”

South Carolina also has a talented trio of freshmen in four-star recruit Donovan Darden and three-stars AJ Holloway and Josh Smith. With all the pieces now in place, it’s a group that has taken some time to come together but has started to develop good chemistry as the season grows closer.

“I feel like when we first got here,” Johnson said, “nobody really wanted to speak up and stuff. But now it’s kind of like set people who are the leaders in the linebacker room, and we’ve just embraced that role.”

There will still be questions left to answer as the season gets going. Can the new players follow up on what last year’s group did? What about the leadership and experience factors?

Those answers will all come in time. However, as things stand right now, they like the potential of who they have to fill the void.

“I think we all click together as a whole group,” Murphy said. “… Our chemistry keeps growing and growing and growing and that’s what we’re looking forward to coming into the season.”

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