South Carolina sophomore David Bucey on what the Gamecocks can do to step up without Nick Emmanwori: 'It's all about the ball'

South Carolina defensive backs coach Torrian Gray will be without All-American Nick Emmanwori in 2025. With the Columbia-area native now pushing for a starting job with the Seattle Seahawks, Gray has a position battle on his hands at safety next to multi-year starter DQ Smith.

One of the players in the middle of that competition is sophomore David Bucey. On Wednesday, he spoke with the media following practice.

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Bucey is competing with several players–most notably, redshirt juniors Peyton Williams and Gerald Kilgore and redshirt freshman Kelvin Hunter–for a starting gig at safety. He has also gotten some practice reps at nickel.

Bucey said that having a full year under his belt, he feels much more confident and ready to contribute this fall. “I feel more confident in the playbook, obviously. I’m getting a better feel for Coach Gray and also his standard in the DB room. Just going out and competing every day.” He added that he feels like he has grown the most with the “understanding of my technique.”

The Savannah, Georgia native will need that uptick in confidence to help South Carolina fill the void left by Emmanwori’s departure. Bucey says the current crop of Gamecock secondary players is hoping to live up to what Emmanwori accomplished. “He set the standard…We’re just going to continue trying to fill those shoes,” he said. Bucey added, “The competition is great, and we have a lot of DBs, so it’s fun.”

One of the best things Emmanwori did during his All-American 2024 season was force takeaways. No. 7 picked off four passes, returning two for touchdowns (though one more was called back thanks to a penalty flag). Bucey said interceptions and forced fumbles remain a focus playing under Gray and defensive coordinator Clayton White.

“In the defensive room, we say, ‘It’s all about the ball,'” Bucey explained. “So, [takeaways are] on our mind every single day. Every practice we work on punching it out. We make a big emphasis on it for sure.”

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Bucey spent the 2024 season as a reserve, seeing just 23 snaps worth of action on defense. However, he played a major role on special teams, forcing a pair of fumbles as a coverage unit player. Even if he doesn’t beat out Williams and the others at safety, special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis likely will use the hard-hitting sophomore.

Bucey and his South Carolina teammates have a little over three weeks left of fall camp before the season begins. The Gamecocks will match up with the Virginia Tech Hokies in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, August 31st.

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