South Carolina Football: 5 players who should play more this weekend
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football players who could play more against Furman:
Defensive Back KaJuan Banks
The Gamecocks are working to replace two NFL cornerbacks from last season’s team as both Cam Smith and Darius Rush were drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft. Last season’s third corner Marcellas Dial played a lot in 2022, and the three top guys played the majority of the snaps at the three spots (including nickel). Freshman All-American safety DQ Smith and experienced defensive back David Spaulding got the other snaps at nickel last season.
On Saturday, with no Smith or Rush on the team, and with Smith occupied at safety, Nick Emmanwori missing most of the game with a hamstring issue, and Spaulding getting hurt, the Gamecocks needed an unproven player to step up at nickel. Keenan Nelson, Jr. got the first opportunity and had some struggles. KaJuan Banks played later in the game.
Banks played very well in his limited snaps.
Alternating between wearing #13 and #48 due to sharing special teams duties with fellow #13 Payton Mangrum, Banks was hard to identify at times on the defense, but he played well. He played tighter coverage than Nelson, and he had two tackles in space.
In the 4th quarter, he had fairly tight coverage on UNC receiver Kobe Paysour and picked off the Drake Maye pass when Paysour couldn’t come up with the tough catch. You can watch the interception here.
With Emmanwori and Spaulding likely out for the Furman game, DQ Smith and Jalon Kilgore will probably be locked in at the two safety spots. Nelson was still listed as the starter at nickel for week 2, but KaJuan Banks earned more playing time and likely will get it.