With Nick Emmanwori gone, South Carolina begins new era at safety position
It wasn’t exactly labeled a depth chart but there definitely appeared to be a pecking order to how South Carolina defensive backs coach Torrian Gray listed his safeties when speaking to the media recently.
“At safety, we’ve got DQ (Smith). We’ve got Peyton Williams,” Gray began. “Those are guys who have played the most snaps for us right now.”
Not listed among the group is of course All-American Nick Emmanwori, who leaves a massive hole in the secondary as he heads to the NFL and will likely be selected in the first round of the draft later this month.
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Smith, a three-year starter for the Gamecocks, seems locked in to one starting spot, while Williams appears first up in the battle to replace Emmanwori beside him.
Williams has appeared in 16 games over the past three seasons with one start most noticeably stepping in for Smith against Vanderbilt due to an injury and for Emmanwori in the second half of the bowl game.
Logic dictates, if he performs well this offseason, then he’ll step into the starting role vacated by Emmanwori. But the Gamecocks are still trying to bring along the depth and competition among the others at the position.
“Then, you’ve got David Bucey, you’ve got Gerald Kilgore, guys who were with us for the first time last year that, hopefully, you need those guys to mature and take the next steps,” Gray continued.
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Bucey and Kilgore, who both joined the program last year, played sparingly on defense but played major roles on special teams and could play more snaps on defense this season.
After those two, a couple of young players are also in the mix.
“Kelvin Hunter, we moved him to safety, so he’s now working at a new position,” Gray added. “But he’s doing a great job through these first three practices. We’re so excited about those guys. And then Ken(dall) Daniels is a true freshman guy who’s got to go through the process of learning it. But, as the game slows down for him, we’ll see what he can give us also.”
Walk-on Buddy Mack III, a special teams contributor, rounds out the group, Gray said.
Of course, there’s long been the thought that starting nickelback Jalon Kilgore could move to safety.
But just as Shane Beamer and Clayton White have said, Gray hopes to keep Kilgore at nickel.
“It takes kind of a unique guy who can do the things that Jalon can do from the nickel spot,” Gray said. “He’s a big body, he’s a safety body type that can cover, that can intercept the ball, make turnovers, be stout on the perimeter in the run game. So, he’s just such a unique player in that spot.
“Jalon’s a heckuva football player, and he’d be a heckuva safety, but for our defense, Jalon likes the nickel position, and we like him at the nickel position. So, we’re going to see if our safety position can play itself out and keep Jalon at nickel.”
