The South Carolina football program will have another draft of the first round chosen this year, the third in four seasons, when Jaycee Horn will be selected on April 29th. It will be difficult to replace Horn in the 2021 team, but a returning cornerback wants to be the next Jaycee.
Horn closed his side of the field for the Gamecocks in each of the past two seasons, and was a Freshman All-SEC artist primarily as a nickel in his first year on campus. With Horn transferred to NFL, sophomore Cam Smith has his eyes on being that lock cover guy this season for Gamecocks.
“I feel like I could be the defense’s Jaycee, block one side, and not be any ‘s’ or ‘but’ about it,” Smith said on Tuesday at a media meeting.
Smith played in eight games last season, with three games, when the high school players around him fell due to injury or withdrawal. He played better as the year progressed and was credited with 16 tackles, two interceptions and four pass separations.
He was the fourth corner of the Gamecocks last season behind Horn, Israel Mukuamu and John Dixon, but all three players are gone. The cornerback is a position that has historically been strong in South Carolina, and Smith carries with him the confidence that he can be the next big player.
“I came this spring feeling like Cam, feeling like me,” said Smith. “There is no hesitation or anything like that. I’m just playing for free, playing like before. Me going out, playing like that, having that arrogance about myself, I don’t feel like anyone can beat me ”.
Smith had the opportunity to be influenced by Horn and others in his first two seasons on the show.
“There’s nothing I haven’t seen that has made them great,” said Smith of Horn and Mukuamu. “I’ve been with them and had a relationship with them, even before I got here. I saw the things they did, the sacrifices they made to get to where they are now. “
Over his two years with the Gamecocks, Smith played 11 games with 23 total tackles. He is also featured on special teams, sometimes as one of the top scorers on the punt team.
He is now playing with a new defensive coordinator and defensive coach. Torrian Gray, in his first year leading the Gamecocks secondary, considers Smith and his companions responsible and of a high standard.
“He’s going to fall on me. This is something that I love, that it will fall on me, ”said Smith. “Since I got here, I haven’t heard anything from him that hasn’t been difficult. He’s always going to be tough on me. He knows what we can do, he knows that we have the talent and all the tools and everything we need to be a great defense at the SEC. “
Gamecocks were not as good in high school as you would expect, given the veteran presence in the group last season. South Carolina finished seventh in the SEC in defense of passes, giving up 256.1 yards per game, but was 12th in the league in yards per attempt. South Carolina was also 10th in the league in interceptions and gave up the third highest number of touchdowns per game passing the SEC.
Although the numbers were not good for South Carolina last season, Horn did his job as an individual. And Smith hopes to be the new Jaycee.