South Carolina football: Defensive position battles to watch during fall camp

DB

The Gamecock secondary may be the most talented position group on the entire team, but what it will look like is still a bit unknown. There are a few certainties. Jaycee Horn will start at corner, as he possesses the best press coverage skills on the defense. Jammie Robinson will start after a stellar freshman season that saw him earn all-conference honors at nickelback and safety. Israel Mukuamu will start at either corner or safety depending on how a few key position battles play out.

Now, to the unknowns. There are a couple of different battles to keep an eye on over these next few weeks of fall practice. At safety, South Carolina is looking to fill its final spot. RJ Roderick has the most experience, having started 16 games over his first two seasons. The Summerville native owns 111 career tackles and a couple of interceptions.

He’ll battle it out with Jaylin Dickerson, who’s promising career has been derailed by injuries. As a freshman, the safety was in line to possibly earn a starting role. He then suffered nerve damage in his shoulder that caused him to miss the year. He played sparingly in 2018, then had to have hip surgery in 2019 and, again, had to sit out the entire season. He hopes to get back to that freshman form this year.

Shilo Sanders will play into the safety mix after taking a redshirt year as a true freshman. Classmates Joey Hunter and Dominick Hill will also look to earn playing time in their first seasons on campus. Should one of these options at safety prove to be a formidable fit, Mukuamu can remain at his current cornerback position. But there’s also another possible outcome.

There have been talks that the defense would be best suited with Mukuamu at safety, where he can use that rangy 6-foot-4 frame to roam in the back of the Carolina secondary. That, of course, would mean his cornerback spot would be unfilled.

If this proves to be the case, there are two players that will likely duke it out. John Dixon and Cam Smith both saw game action as true freshmen. Dixon saw the most playing time, and even started in the season opener against North Carolina. He logged his first career interception in the second game of the year.

Smith struggled to adjust to the speed of the SEC as a freshman, but seems to have made strides over the offseason. A highly-touted recruit, the Blythewood native was rated as a top 200 player by both Rivals.com and 247Sports. If Smith or Dixon show that they’re up to the task of defending SEC pass catchers, it may provide the defensive coaching staff with the flexibility to maximize Mukuamu’s skillset.