Get the “So, so what now?” and “All gas, no brakes” signs hanging around football facilities, stick them in the utility closet or simply take them behind the training grounds and burn them. There is no room for cute catchphrases anywhere near the defensive meeting room.
Defensive Coordinator Clayton White, who accepted the position of head coach of the first year Shane Beamer on the weekend and your contract is set to be approved by the Board of Trustees on Friday, not to mention. Teaching and understanding is what builds confidence, not a rallying cry.
White says he has a 4-2-5 “multiple and aggressive” defensive scheme that he wants to implement in his time with Gamecocks and that the process will start next Monday. The defense will transition from a front seven that varied between 4-3 and 3-4, depending on the hybrid player “Buck”, who also retired in South Carolina.
To make his players understand the defense, White needs his guys in the building and paying attention to the whiteboard.
“The first thing you need to do is put them in the building as much as possible in the job groups and teaching begins,” said White. “Speaking, words, slogans and all that stuff don’t really do anything. They look good and sound good, but you have to put them in the building and understand the mindset we have at this level. “
The basic Gamecocks package is now a nickel defense, which can be a challenge to implement in the short term for White. South Carolina lost several defensive backs due to the draft and transfer of the NFL.
White will need guys to advance in each level of defense, as there are three new technical assistants on that side of the ball to follow a new scheme after a season of failures in 2020.
South Carolina finished 12th in the Southeast Conference in defensive scoring, allowing 36.0 points per game.
“As a coach, we have to train the attitude,” said White. “We have to go into the building and talk about football, and that starts from the first day. That’s how you get confidence in any defense. There are no words, there are no speeches now, at this moment. I can say what I want now, but if they don’t know what they are doing on the football field, they will not feel confident ”.
Trust will come through teaching, not conversation.