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Changes on the defensive side of the ball for South Carolina
South Carolina started off the 2015 on a good note. It was able to defeat North Carolina in a hard-fought game by a score of 17-13. It kept an explosive Tar Heels' offense virtually under control for the duration of the contest.
#Gamecocks co-DL Lorenzo Ward says David Johnson will start over Cedric Cooper at DE. And confirms TJ Holloman to MLB and Skai Moore to WLB.
— David Caraviello (@dcaraviello) September 24, 2015
Since then, it's been a bit of struggle.
South Carolina gave up 24 points in the first half against Kentucky. The following week, Georgia hung 52 on the defense. There were alignment problems, missed assignments, a lack of gap integrity, and spotty tackling. These are all correctable things, but also are aspects which shouldn't be plaguing a somewhat veteran bunch.
The personnel move up front puts the sophomore David Johnson ahead of the senior Cedric Cooper. Although Cooper hasn't played poorly, it's clearly a move to shake things up and garner a bit better of a pass rush.
Bryson Allen-Williams has moved to backup at middle linebacker, while Jonathan Walton is backup at weak-side backer. #Gamecocks #UofSC
— Willie Smith (@willie_t_smith) September 23, 2015
At linebacker, the demotion of Jonathan Walton is interesting. As it stands, he's the third-leading tackler on the team. Dually, South Carolina's best player Skai Moore has moved over to an outside linebacker position. With his athleticism, it could mean more in the way of coverage responsibilities. He leads the Gamecocks with 31 tackles on the year.
While this isn't desperation time for Steve Spurrier's team, it really does need a victory against an undermanned UCF team at home.
