W
Wes Mitchell
Guest
-- South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier talked on Tuesday about how they're charting the quarterbacks more than ever this season, but the defensive players are also being charted on every play as well. Co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke has preached effort since arriving in January and one thing that's charted each day is "loafs."
While loafs sound like simply an effort thing, it goes far deeper than if a player hustled to the ball or not. There are various type of loafs from "assignment loafs" to "leverage loafs" to "change of speed loafs" among others that are charted and the players have to answer to in meetings.
-- The move of Skai Moore to middle linebacker later in the season last year allowed South Carolina to get Moore and Jonathan Walton on the field at the same time and it appeared that the defense instantly improved when that happened. While the middle linebacker traditionally has the responsibility of making the calls, Hoke said Thursday that both Moore and Walton have to communicate to the rest of the defense. Moore and Walton are not only friends on the field, but they've also been best friends off the field since arriving together two summers ago which means they're both incredibly comfortable with each other.
While some of the linebackers are crosstraining at both the WILL and SAM linebacker spots, Walton is only playing the WILL. Sophomore Bryson Allen-Williams is working with the second team at the WILL and is also training at the SAM. Larenz Bryant and Ernest Hawkins are also working at the SAM.
One thing to keep in mind about Allen-Williams is that there are some games where he'd actually see more time as the second-team WILL than he would even as the first-team SAM since the SAM won't be on the field against spread teams. Allen-Williams looks great physically and is poised for a big year.
-- I continue to hear good things about the play of newcomer Dante Sawyer at the three-technique defensive tackle spot. He's a perfect fit for that position in this scheme and is buying into it already. Sawyer is a relentless effort guy on the field and is driven to find his way into the lineup.
While loafs sound like simply an effort thing, it goes far deeper than if a player hustled to the ball or not. There are various type of loafs from "assignment loafs" to "leverage loafs" to "change of speed loafs" among others that are charted and the players have to answer to in meetings.
-- The move of Skai Moore to middle linebacker later in the season last year allowed South Carolina to get Moore and Jonathan Walton on the field at the same time and it appeared that the defense instantly improved when that happened. While the middle linebacker traditionally has the responsibility of making the calls, Hoke said Thursday that both Moore and Walton have to communicate to the rest of the defense. Moore and Walton are not only friends on the field, but they've also been best friends off the field since arriving together two summers ago which means they're both incredibly comfortable with each other.
While some of the linebackers are crosstraining at both the WILL and SAM linebacker spots, Walton is only playing the WILL. Sophomore Bryson Allen-Williams is working with the second team at the WILL and is also training at the SAM. Larenz Bryant and Ernest Hawkins are also working at the SAM.
One thing to keep in mind about Allen-Williams is that there are some games where he'd actually see more time as the second-team WILL than he would even as the first-team SAM since the SAM won't be on the field against spread teams. Allen-Williams looks great physically and is poised for a big year.
-- I continue to hear good things about the play of newcomer Dante Sawyer at the three-technique defensive tackle spot. He's a perfect fit for that position in this scheme and is buying into it already. Sawyer is a relentless effort guy on the field and is driven to find his way into the lineup.
