South Carolina football: four players looking to make impacts at new positions

DEFENSE

BUCK JJ Enagbare

Enagbare has been disruptive as a defensive end over his first two seasons. Now, it looks like the junior is in line to earn playing time at the BUCK position. The BUCK is a versatile role in the South Carolina defense, one that moves around the front seven, lining up either as an outside linebacker or with his hand in the ground. It’s typically been a role for one of the team’s most disruptive pass rushers.

And Enagbare is just that. In limited action a season ago, the Atlanta native tallied 3.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss. In a full-time role, those numbers can be expected to increase.

The BUCK position was left open by the departure of DJ Wonnum. Enagbare will look to fill the void.

LB/S Jahmar Brown

Brown made an impact as a true freshman at linebacker last year, appearing in nine games and recording six tackles and a forced fumble. Now, he’ll look to transition from linebacker to more of a safety/backer hybrid.

Brown is one of the most athletic players on the defensive side of the ball for the Gamecocks, and this move should allow him to better utilize that skillset. He will have a few guys ahead of him at the safety position, as South Carolina has Jammie Robinson, Jaylin Dickerson, RJ Roderick, and others competing for the starting spots, but where Brown could make an instant impact is at DIME backer.

In obvious passing downs, the Gamecocks will employ their DIME package, which uses six defensive backs and one linebacker. Brown appears to have a stranglehold on the starting linebacker spot in those situations. The sophomore is too talented to keep off the field and it looks like coaches are finding ways to get the youngster more involved.