South Carolina Football: 7 questions for the Gamecocks as spring practice begins

South Carolina Football's 7 Spring Practice Questions:
What defense will the Gamecocks be using in 2024?

For years, South Carolina football has used a 4-2-5 as its primary defense. That changed a bit down the stretch of 2023 as the Gamecocks switched things up to use a 3-3-5.

The defensive line rotated much more frequently and much more situationally based. The linebackers played all over the field. The secondary seemed to play with more confidence as the men in front of them were better.

Will defensive coordinator Clayton White revert back to his typical 4-2-5 or keep what worked late in the season? Will he try to be more "multiple" and utilize both schemes?

Last season, after the switch to the 3-3-5, the defense struggled when they would try to mix in the 4-2-5 (both of Kentucky's scoring drives came against majority 4-2-5 looks). Multiplicity sounds good on paper, but it is hard to pull off in the actual flow of a game.

These questions likely won't be answered during spring practice (unless the staff has decided to abandon one look completely, which is unlikely), but there will be a chance to see what personnel usage might look like for the Gamecock defense. With a lot of players who can play multiple spots, positional usage will be worth monitoring this spring.