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Wes Mitchell
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-- The fact that Lorenzo Ward is moving to the coaches' box, actually isn't the most interesting thing we've picked up from practice this week. The bye week is not only a time for getting back to basics and fundamentals -- but also for trying out new things that could potentially help -- in that light, we've learned that South Carolina has worked redshirt freshman offensive lineman Na'Ty Rodgers at defensive end this week and true freshman offensive lineman Malik Young at defensive tackle.
Josh Low actually picked up on this bit of news first, and we've confirmed it with a couple of sources. That's not to say that it's a move that's necessarily going to stick in the long term, or even short time, but it's something that's being experimented with. Josh also learned that Rodgers is working out as sort of a pass-rush specialist for third down situations. One source also told me that Rodgers has the size and athleticism to potentially bring something to the position and that his attitude could make for a good fit.
Rodgers is also still working on the offensive line. Steve Spurrier mentioned last week that Rodgers could get a look at the right guard position. While Rodgers was originally only working at offensive tackle, he's been working at guard as of late in practice. Long-term, he's probably still a future starter at offensive tackle, but there's definitely some experimentation going on that could help him see time at another position earlier than that.
-- Now, back to the fact that Ward will be in the box. Ward is a rah-rah type on the sidelines and has made it clear in the past that he likes to be able to look his players' in the eyes, but as Ward said every team is different and every team has different needs. While I'd imagine one day Ward will move back to the box, this team is at the point where it has to try anything to fix things on defense. Ward mentioned that there was a simple fix to some of the problems with the Wildcat on Saturday and that it wasn't noticed from the box -- thus the change to move him up there and give him a bird's eye view.
It's more of a preference thing -- some coaches prefer to be in the box, others prefer to be on the sidelines -- in the case of this team, I think it's a positive move. South Carolina needs to get back to basics on defense and Ward being in the box will, in theory, give him a better idea of what's going wrong when things aren't going well and thus allow him to fix them quicker.
-- Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Alan Knott didn't practice on Tuesday, but it's not anything to worry about long term. Knott has a stomach virus that is keeping him out.
ALSO SEE: Scott Hood's practice report
This post was edited on 10/7 11:41 PM by Wes Mitchell
Josh Low actually picked up on this bit of news first, and we've confirmed it with a couple of sources. That's not to say that it's a move that's necessarily going to stick in the long term, or even short time, but it's something that's being experimented with. Josh also learned that Rodgers is working out as sort of a pass-rush specialist for third down situations. One source also told me that Rodgers has the size and athleticism to potentially bring something to the position and that his attitude could make for a good fit.
Rodgers is also still working on the offensive line. Steve Spurrier mentioned last week that Rodgers could get a look at the right guard position. While Rodgers was originally only working at offensive tackle, he's been working at guard as of late in practice. Long-term, he's probably still a future starter at offensive tackle, but there's definitely some experimentation going on that could help him see time at another position earlier than that.
-- Now, back to the fact that Ward will be in the box. Ward is a rah-rah type on the sidelines and has made it clear in the past that he likes to be able to look his players' in the eyes, but as Ward said every team is different and every team has different needs. While I'd imagine one day Ward will move back to the box, this team is at the point where it has to try anything to fix things on defense. Ward mentioned that there was a simple fix to some of the problems with the Wildcat on Saturday and that it wasn't noticed from the box -- thus the change to move him up there and give him a bird's eye view.
It's more of a preference thing -- some coaches prefer to be in the box, others prefer to be on the sidelines -- in the case of this team, I think it's a positive move. South Carolina needs to get back to basics on defense and Ward being in the box will, in theory, give him a better idea of what's going wrong when things aren't going well and thus allow him to fix them quicker.
-- Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Alan Knott didn't practice on Tuesday, but it's not anything to worry about long term. Knott has a stomach virus that is keeping him out.
ALSO SEE: Scott Hood's practice report
This post was edited on 10/7 11:41 PM by Wes Mitchell
