Five Defensive “Off the Radar” Contributors in 2011

The last blog we discussed offensive undervalued players in USC’s pre-season camp. Today we will take a look at five off the radar defensive contributors who need to perform well for the upcoming 2011 season to be successful. It’s a given that USC potentially has three standout playmakers on defense this year. IMHO DL Travian Robertson, DE Devin Taylor and CB Stephon Gilmore are irreplaceable, because each player has experience and production over the course of their playing careers. USC must develop a supporting cast on defense that steps out of the shadows of the aforementioned three players.

My first underappreciated Gamecock defender seems like a forgotten man since he barely saw the field last year due to injury. Middle Linebacker Shaq Wilson, a redshirt junior, returns to the starting lineup in 2011 after succumbing to a devastating hamstring injury last year on the first day of pre-season practice. Wilson played briefly at Auburn but never recovered from the hamstring injury and took a medical redshirt. The Jacksonville, FL native, the 2009 leading tackler, is healthy and ready to redeem himself as the “quarterback” of the Carolina defense. The Gamecocks missed Wilson last year and the USC defense suffered coverage breakdowns and alignment mistakes. Wilson’s presence alone on defense will eliminate the mental lapses and bring stability to the middle of the Carolina defense, especially the front seven.

Staying in the middle of the defense, my next undervalued Gamecock defender is Defensive Tackle Byron Jerideau. The junior out of Colleton County South Carolina via Fort Scot Community College enters this year a new man, literally, as he has lost almost 35-40 pounds. Jerideau came to USC last year tipping the scales at 350 pounds and barely reaching six feet in height. He was severely out of shape and as DL Coach Brad Lawing has stated he was bordering on unhealthy in regard to his weight. Jerideau got serious about his weight and completely resculpted his body over the off-season. Now the big d-tackle is better conditioned and primed to receive several meaningful snaps in the d-line rotation backing up Travian Robertson. I expect Jerideau to log anywhere from 20-25 snaps a game this year and significantly increase his production.

Shifting outside to the perimeter of the defensive line, we find a player for some reason that has become an afterthought with the gluttony of defensive lineman at USC. Do you remember who led the Gamecocks in sacks last year? Devin Taylor? Nope! Cliff Matthews? Nope! The answer is Melvin Ingram, who registered nine sacks in 2010. The redshirt senior from Rockingham, NC is one of the best overall athletes on the team and one of the strongest. Ingram is poised to capitalize on his production in the sacks category this year with all the attention being shown to his “sack mates” Devin Taylor and Jadeveon Clowney. Ingram is an interchangeable player on the d-line, as he starts outside at defensive end and then will slide inside on passing downs to rush the passer with Clowney, Taylor and Robertson forming a fearsome foursome on 3rd & long.

I began this post focused on the middle of the defense and there is no better security blanket for a defense than having a Free Safety patrolling the deep middle of the field. Redshirt freshman Jimmy Legree from Beaufort, SC (HS teammate of Devin Taylor) will make his first career start at Free Safety versus East Carolina. If you remember last year, miscommunication in the Secondary cost Carolina at least one win (Kentucky game) and several embarrassing blown coverage assignments that led to uncontested touchdowns. Coaches and teammates have praised Legree in pre-season camp for his development at the Free Safety position. Let’s remember Legree was moved to Free Safety post-Spring Game; so ECU will be his first live action. Legree’s athleticism and speed allow him to go hash mark-to-hash mark and provide deep safety help in the vertical passing game, which ultimately opposing teams will challenge to see if the redshirt freshman is disciplined in his coverage assignments.

The last underestimated contributor is senior cornerback Akeem Auguste. The Hollywood, FL senior is back at his more natural position of Cornerback in 2011, after making a cameo appearance at Free Safety, which allowed former Gamecock Chris Culliver to shift to cornerback due to Culliver’s ailing shoulder last year. Auguste registered the most tackles (50) of his career last year but surprisingly has never recorded an interception in his four-year career at USC. Auguste is a more natural cornerback IMHO versus a safety, and really thrives on man-to-man coverage. Auguste has missed most of pre-season camp, as he has been recovering from an injury in the arch of his foot. Auguste returned to practice last week; but there is no guarantee he overtakes C.C. Whitlock at the cornerback position opposite Gilmore for the ECU game. Carolina needs a healthy Auguste at Cornerback to help shore up a woeful Pass Defense from 2010 that surrendered over 240 yards per game.

We are now in game week mode (finally!) and throughout this week I will post a new blog each day. Look for my recruiting update, preseason Top 25, 2011 Gamecocks prediction, five keys to victory versus East Carolina and finally on Friday my USC/ECU prediction.

Go Gamecocks!!!