A new week brings a new foe for the South Carolina Gamecocks as they welcome in the Wildcats of Kentucky this Saturday night to Williams-Brice Stadium in which is sure to be a rowdy and raucous event. The Gamecocks are currently standing tall at 2-0 after their dominant win last Saturday night over Mizzou. In last week’s edition, I outlined the three Mizzou players that I thought could give the Gamecocks the biggest trouble and how SC should handle each player. South Carolina did a tremendous job on those three players and came away with a dominant win over the Tigers. One tidbit that was interesting about last week’s edition was the final paragraph. I spoke about the potential of Jamyest Williams having a big game and he absolutely delivered.
In this week’s edition, we are going to turn our focus on the Wildcats. Kentucky will enter the Sandstorm of Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday (also sitting at 2-0) and will be looking to stop the momentum the Gamecocks are building. Kentucky opened up their season against always seemingly tough opponent Southern Miss and they faced Eastern Kentucky in their latest game. Both games were close wins for the Wildcats in which Kentucky was able to wear down their opponents and win the games in the 4th quarter. After reviewing the film, I have identified the most important players for Kentucky and if the Gamecocks have a solid plan for these Wildcats then Columbia will be partying through the night as the Gamecocks will be standing at 3-0. Let’s take a look at who these Wildcats are.
1. Benny Snell, Jr – Running back – Sophomore – 5’11 223lbs.
High School – 3 Star, 5.5 RB out of Westerville, Ohio
Career Overview – Sophomore RB who broke numerous freshman records for Kentucky. Enters the season as the primary back with the departure of Stanley “Boom” Williams. First freshman RB in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards.
How Kentucky will utilize him – Snell will be the workhorse Kentucky will ride to try and get their Offense going. Snell is a tough runner that is not afraid of contact but also has some speed to get some chunk yardage. The Kentucky Offense uses a lot of the Pistol and Shotgun Formation to spread out the Defense to try and get space for Snell. Another formation Kentucky uses quite a bit is the “Wildcat” Offense with Snell being the Wildcat QB in those formations. Without a question of a doubt, Kentucky will try to get Snell the ball in many different ways to set up their Offense.
What SC needs to do to handle Snell – Tackle well. This isn’t a secret and there is no fancy formations or schemes to stop Snell other than tackling well and getting pressure with their front four Defensive Lineman. We have seen the Gamecocks Defensive Line get better the last 2 weeks, but I feel like this will be the true breakout game for this unit. Taylor Stallworth, Javon Kinlaw, Dante Sawyer, and DJ Wonnum have to provide backfield disruption and I believe they will do it. They need to bottle Snell up in the backfield before he gets his pads lowered and get a head of steam. Javon Kinlaw is starting to “come alive” on the field and I think this is the type of game where Kinlaw will wreak havoc. It is extremely important the Gamecocks Defense shut down the Wildcats run game.
2. Mike Edwards – Safety – Junior – 6’ 200lbs.
High School – 4 Star, 5.8 Safety out of Cincinnati, Ohio
Career Overview – AP 2nd All-SEC performer last year who led the Wildcats Secondary in tackles and led the team in Interceptions. Enters the 2017 season as one of the best Safeties in the SEC as he is very well rounded and can impact the game in many facets. Edwards is a tremendous tackler who can cover and also is an aggressive blitzer.
How Kentucky will utilize him – Edwards is a tremendously bright football player. He is the type of player that seems to always be around the ball and impacts the game in many ways. Kentucky will use him as the signal caller of the Defense and call out all alignments and adjustments. My guess is they will use Edwards in obvious passing downs to have “over the top” coverage on Deebo Samuel.
What SC needs to do to handle Edwards – It’s difficult to eliminate a Safety, but ultimately, I think because of Edwards you will see more opportunities for big plays out of Bryan Edwards, Shi Smith, and Hayden Hurst. Jake Bentley will need to know where Edwards is and utilize his eyes to look him off in coverage. Edwards can be trouble for QB’s, but I have complete confidence in Jake Bentley. Not only do I think you see a big game from B. Edwards, Smith, and Hurst, but I think this is the game where we see Jake Bentley return to the form we were all anticipating. I believe there will be some “new” looks on Offense and Kentucky will not be ready. I look for a big game from the Gamecocks Offense.
3. Stephen Johnson – Quarterback – Senior – 6’2 185lbs.
JUCO – 2 Star, 5.4 QB out of Palm Desert, Ca
Career Overview – 2016 enrollee who filled in for injured QB Drew Barker and never looked back. He was the MVP of the TaxSlayer Bowl and completed 54% of his passes on the season in 2016 while rushing for over 300 yards.
How Kentucky will utilize him – Ultimately, Johnson’s major threat to the Gamecocks is with his legs and ability to extending drives using them. Kentucky will throw the ball short, intermediate, and long and trust Johnson to run their full Offense. He has a good arm, but has not shown the consistent accuracy to be a real threat in the passing game.
What SC needs to do to handle Johnson – Once again, the Gamecocks need to tackle well and get pressure with their front four Defensive Lineman. I don’t feel that Johnson will be able to win the game passing the ball so the Gamecocks front 7 has a chance to dominate. This Gamecocks Defense looks much different than it has over the last few years so I am not overly concerned with Johnson. It is imperative that the Gamecocks Linebackers do not miss tackles in space. Get to Johnson, tackle him. Do that and the night for the Defense should not be an overly difficult task.
A lot of the analysis may seem simple and straight forward, but that truly is the case here. After reviewing film of Kentucky for three days, it is clear to me that the Gamecocks are more talented in almost every way than the Wildcats. If South Carolina will play smart, fundamental football they should win this game by double digits. I almost added Linebacker Jordan Jones to the list as I feel he is an overall better player than Johnson. But, Johnson’s ability to scramble is the key to Kentucky’s success. So for that, I added Johnson. But you will see Jones on Saturday night. He is a really, really good player and I am interested to see if they allow him to run with TE Hayden Hurst in coverage and how well he does in doing that.
***Something to watch out for in this game ***
I have been told by numerous people within the industry that Kentucky true Freshman WR Lynn Bowden is an absolute freak. Two individuals told me he was one of the better football players they had seen come out of the state of Ohio in a long time. Now, Bowden was a late enrollee and hasn’t been on campus long. He barely played in the first game but Kentucky had big plans for him last week. Unfortunately, Bowden was ejected on the first series he played in for targeting. I have a strange and sneaky suspicion that Kentucky will try to “unleash” him on Saturday night. With very little film of him through 2 games, there isn’t much for Muschamp and TRob to prepare for when it comes to Bowden. Let’s hope we don’t hear much of Bowden’s name Saturday night, but I’ve got a weird feeling that we will. Keep an eye on this one.
In this week’s edition, we are going to turn our focus on the Wildcats. Kentucky will enter the Sandstorm of Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday (also sitting at 2-0) and will be looking to stop the momentum the Gamecocks are building. Kentucky opened up their season against always seemingly tough opponent Southern Miss and they faced Eastern Kentucky in their latest game. Both games were close wins for the Wildcats in which Kentucky was able to wear down their opponents and win the games in the 4th quarter. After reviewing the film, I have identified the most important players for Kentucky and if the Gamecocks have a solid plan for these Wildcats then Columbia will be partying through the night as the Gamecocks will be standing at 3-0. Let’s take a look at who these Wildcats are.
1. Benny Snell, Jr – Running back – Sophomore – 5’11 223lbs.
High School – 3 Star, 5.5 RB out of Westerville, Ohio
Career Overview – Sophomore RB who broke numerous freshman records for Kentucky. Enters the season as the primary back with the departure of Stanley “Boom” Williams. First freshman RB in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards.
How Kentucky will utilize him – Snell will be the workhorse Kentucky will ride to try and get their Offense going. Snell is a tough runner that is not afraid of contact but also has some speed to get some chunk yardage. The Kentucky Offense uses a lot of the Pistol and Shotgun Formation to spread out the Defense to try and get space for Snell. Another formation Kentucky uses quite a bit is the “Wildcat” Offense with Snell being the Wildcat QB in those formations. Without a question of a doubt, Kentucky will try to get Snell the ball in many different ways to set up their Offense.
What SC needs to do to handle Snell – Tackle well. This isn’t a secret and there is no fancy formations or schemes to stop Snell other than tackling well and getting pressure with their front four Defensive Lineman. We have seen the Gamecocks Defensive Line get better the last 2 weeks, but I feel like this will be the true breakout game for this unit. Taylor Stallworth, Javon Kinlaw, Dante Sawyer, and DJ Wonnum have to provide backfield disruption and I believe they will do it. They need to bottle Snell up in the backfield before he gets his pads lowered and get a head of steam. Javon Kinlaw is starting to “come alive” on the field and I think this is the type of game where Kinlaw will wreak havoc. It is extremely important the Gamecocks Defense shut down the Wildcats run game.
2. Mike Edwards – Safety – Junior – 6’ 200lbs.
High School – 4 Star, 5.8 Safety out of Cincinnati, Ohio
Career Overview – AP 2nd All-SEC performer last year who led the Wildcats Secondary in tackles and led the team in Interceptions. Enters the 2017 season as one of the best Safeties in the SEC as he is very well rounded and can impact the game in many facets. Edwards is a tremendous tackler who can cover and also is an aggressive blitzer.
How Kentucky will utilize him – Edwards is a tremendously bright football player. He is the type of player that seems to always be around the ball and impacts the game in many ways. Kentucky will use him as the signal caller of the Defense and call out all alignments and adjustments. My guess is they will use Edwards in obvious passing downs to have “over the top” coverage on Deebo Samuel.
What SC needs to do to handle Edwards – It’s difficult to eliminate a Safety, but ultimately, I think because of Edwards you will see more opportunities for big plays out of Bryan Edwards, Shi Smith, and Hayden Hurst. Jake Bentley will need to know where Edwards is and utilize his eyes to look him off in coverage. Edwards can be trouble for QB’s, but I have complete confidence in Jake Bentley. Not only do I think you see a big game from B. Edwards, Smith, and Hurst, but I think this is the game where we see Jake Bentley return to the form we were all anticipating. I believe there will be some “new” looks on Offense and Kentucky will not be ready. I look for a big game from the Gamecocks Offense.
3. Stephen Johnson – Quarterback – Senior – 6’2 185lbs.
JUCO – 2 Star, 5.4 QB out of Palm Desert, Ca
Career Overview – 2016 enrollee who filled in for injured QB Drew Barker and never looked back. He was the MVP of the TaxSlayer Bowl and completed 54% of his passes on the season in 2016 while rushing for over 300 yards.
How Kentucky will utilize him – Ultimately, Johnson’s major threat to the Gamecocks is with his legs and ability to extending drives using them. Kentucky will throw the ball short, intermediate, and long and trust Johnson to run their full Offense. He has a good arm, but has not shown the consistent accuracy to be a real threat in the passing game.
What SC needs to do to handle Johnson – Once again, the Gamecocks need to tackle well and get pressure with their front four Defensive Lineman. I don’t feel that Johnson will be able to win the game passing the ball so the Gamecocks front 7 has a chance to dominate. This Gamecocks Defense looks much different than it has over the last few years so I am not overly concerned with Johnson. It is imperative that the Gamecocks Linebackers do not miss tackles in space. Get to Johnson, tackle him. Do that and the night for the Defense should not be an overly difficult task.
A lot of the analysis may seem simple and straight forward, but that truly is the case here. After reviewing film of Kentucky for three days, it is clear to me that the Gamecocks are more talented in almost every way than the Wildcats. If South Carolina will play smart, fundamental football they should win this game by double digits. I almost added Linebacker Jordan Jones to the list as I feel he is an overall better player than Johnson. But, Johnson’s ability to scramble is the key to Kentucky’s success. So for that, I added Johnson. But you will see Jones on Saturday night. He is a really, really good player and I am interested to see if they allow him to run with TE Hayden Hurst in coverage and how well he does in doing that.
***Something to watch out for in this game ***
I have been told by numerous people within the industry that Kentucky true Freshman WR Lynn Bowden is an absolute freak. Two individuals told me he was one of the better football players they had seen come out of the state of Ohio in a long time. Now, Bowden was a late enrollee and hasn’t been on campus long. He barely played in the first game but Kentucky had big plans for him last week. Unfortunately, Bowden was ejected on the first series he played in for targeting. I have a strange and sneaky suspicion that Kentucky will try to “unleash” him on Saturday night. With very little film of him through 2 games, there isn’t much for Muschamp and TRob to prepare for when it comes to Bowden. Let’s hope we don’t hear much of Bowden’s name Saturday night, but I’ve got a weird feeling that we will. Keep an eye on this one.
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