For first time in a while, Gamecocks have a bona fide open competition at one cornerback spot
For the first time in a while, South Carolina has a bona fide open competition for one of its two starting cornerback spots as the Gamecocks work through spring ball and into the 2024 season.
While on a certain level, every position on the football field is up for grabs every season, the Gamecocks have had pretty clear plans at cornerback for the last few years.
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A combination of Cam Smith, Darius Rush, and Marcellas Dial held down the cornerback position in 2021 and 2022.
Last year, the Gamecocks lost Smith and Rush to the NFL, but Dial and O’Donnell Fortune were seen as their clear successors, as long as they took care of business in the offseason.
Now, with Dial also gone to the league, there’s room — and a need — for someone else to step up and play a lot of snaps, likely opposite Fortune.
“I love the guys we have in there,” South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White said last week. “We haven’t really had a true competition, it’s always been plug and play type of things. … Now it’s OD and it’s the first time we’ve had a true open market situation (at the opposite corner position).”
The three most likely candidates at this point are Judge Collier, Emory Floyd, and Vicari Swain, each of whom brings a unique skill to the position.
“Obviously, Judge has more experience,” White said. “I think Vicari brings something. Emory has stepped his game up. He’s not dealing with track, so he’s focused on football and you can see it. So it’s only going to make us better as a football team. Competition is one of our top things and they’re competing in a good way. It’s not hate. I think they’re doing it the right way.”
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To White’s point, Collier played 180 snaps as a true freshman last season, according to PFF, the most of that trio. With Dial and Fortune starting at corner, Collier spent most of the year as the backup to each.
Emory Floyd at times served as their backup, but at other times was a fourth cornerback. He played 57 snaps last season as a redshirt freshman.
Swain, who entered camp with high expectations, saw brief action in each of the first three games of the season, then did not appear again and redshirted.
That group will be joined by freshman four-star Jalewis Solomon this summer.
“I love what I see,” White said. “They’re all big and they’re all strong and they’re all fast. We timed our guys this spring for the first time and the clock was pretty low.”
