Aug. 5, 2016

The University of South Carolina football team held its fourth practice of the 2016 fall camp on Friday morning, working out in shoulder pads and shorts at the new practice fields.

One thing that has stood out early in camp has been the physicality of the practice sessions. “The SEC is a line of scrimmage league,” said defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson after Friday’s workout. “Some teams are spread, some teams are fast tempo. In the end of the day you have to run the ball and you have to stop the run. We are going to do those things for our guys to make sure we are getting prepared for that. We are going to do the 2-on-1 blocks, we are going to do the 1-on-1 blocks, we are going to do the 9-on-7 run. We are going to be a physical outfit, offensively and defensively. That is what we are going to hang our hat on,” noted Robinson. “(Coach Muschamp) talks about it all the time – be a blue-collar football team. That’s what that means. Our guys are going to be tough and they will understand that we play one style of football and that is toughness.”

One of the keys for success this season will be how quickly the players learn the system under the new coaching staff. “Every day we are installing,” said Coach Robinson. “That is the one thing that we talk to our guys about. If you don’t get the install today, well tomorrow we are not going to (install something else). We are going to install (the same thing) again. You have to go and do your job, prepare off the field and study at night and do all the different things you have to do to be a good football player. The one thing I know about a football player is if you know what to do, you have a chance to play fast. If you don’t know what to do, you don’t have a chance to play fast. Our guys are doing that, but we are throwing a lot on them, every single day. We are not going to back off these guys,” continued Robinson. “We are going to stay on them, increase and put in our defense and offense to be successful for our season.”

Robinson said he expects the cornerbacks to play more press coverage this season. “We’re a bump football team,” noted Robinson. “That’s something that we’re going to improve upon. We’re going to bump. We’re going to be, I imagine, somewhere 60 to 70 percent bump man-to-man, doing different things like that with the ability to play zone and different things to change up the looks.”

The Gamecocks have added junior college defensive back Steven Montac to the roster. Montac, a 5-11, 190-pound sophomore, played at Coffeyville (Kansas) Community College in 2015, where he was a teammate of Gamecock newcomer Jamarcus King.

In attendance at today’s practice were Gamecock men’s basketball coach Frank Martin and Jerri Spurrier, wife of former Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier.

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields on Saturday morning, wearing full pads for the first time this fall.