Sept. 8, 2015

The University of South Carolina football squad worked out for about two hours on Tuesday afternoon as they continued preparations for Saturday’s home opener against the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Gamecock coaching staff, while happy with the win over North Carolina, knows there is room for improvement. “I thought we need to improve (our tackling) is what we need to do,” said co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke. “Angles, leverage, those types of things. We need to get better. There were plays out there that we left that we need to improve on in our run fits and they understand that. We were happy to win. We were happy with the takeaways. But we need to play better.

“I thought we would fit the run better,” continued Coach Hoke. “We worked on it a lot, so I thought we would be better, a little more consistent. We have to trust our keys. We didn’t trust our keys all the time.”

Coach Hoke was complimentary of junior linebacker Skai Moore, who was recognized as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the win over North Carolina. “He can run and he has length. He’s a tall guy. I think he could play in any system. He’s a good football player. He helps us.”

The Gamecocks rotated several players along the defensive front. “We knew (North Carolina) was going to be fast, so we knew we had to keep guys fresh,” said defensive line coach Deke Adams. “All of those guys were ready to play. We made some mistakes, but we wanted to keep them as fresh as possible. They did a good job.”

Adams knows that Kentucky will provide another challenge for his unit. “They’re a good offensive line, just like every other offensive line in the SEC. There are no weeks off in this conference. We’re going to have to stop the run. We’ll have to maintain gap integrity and keep guys off our linebackers so we can play fast. We’ve got play and do our responsibility. As long as we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be fine.”

Among those who did not practice on Tuesday were defensive tackle Dante Sawyer (hamstring) and cornerback Chris Lammons (ribs). Tailback Brandon Wilds (shoulder) practiced but without contact.

Jamari Smith, who moved from cornerback to wide receiver this week, will wear number 83.

Saturday’s contest, which is scheduled to kick at 7:39 p.m. ET, will be televised on the SEC Network with Brent Musburger and Jesse Palmer in the booth and Maria Taylor on the sidelines.

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields on Wednesday afternoon.