VIDEO: Will Muschamp Post-Scrimmage News Conference

GAMECOCK TICKETS QUICK BUY

Head coach Will Muschamp took questions from reporters following the Gamecocks’ scrimmage at Williams-Brice Stadium on Monday afternoon.

Will Muschamp Quotes

Opening Statement
“We have more depth than we’ve ever had. Each group got about 50 scrimmage snaps or right at 50 – so 150 plays from scrimmage. I was pleased with the tempo today. There was some nice heat out there, which was good. For us, we need to get accustomed to that because it’s going to be hot. Overall pleased with how today went. We had two live kickoff coverages. We had a couple live punt coverages, which is really good for us to be able to play in space. The first game you’re always concerned in those special team situations. Overall offensively, we need to throw it better. I thought we’ve run the ball pretty successfully through camp. We’re not as consistent in the throwing game, whether that’s from a protection standpoint or just throwing and catching it. We had a couple explosive plays. Jake (Bentley) hit Shi (Smith) on a big touchdown – and then hit Mon (Denson) in a 1-minute situation to put us into field goal position to win the game. Parker (White) went out and hit it, so that was positive. We just need to be more consistent throwing the football. Defensively, been very pleased with out front-seven and how we’ve played – got to continue to work on our perimeter as far as leveraging the ball and our tackling and getting things on the ground in space. I thought we did tackle pretty well today. It was the first time we had a live short-yardage and goal line since practice six. But today was our first time live in full pads out on the field tackling. I thought we tackled pretty well. I’m pleased with where we are special teams wise. We’ve got more team speed than we’ve had. We’ve got some really good specialists. Joe (Charlton) is having a great camp. I’m really pleased with where he is right now. Again, overall pleased with the day. It helps develop the bottom half of your roster. That’s where young players really can be developed in your program – especially line of scrimmage plays. That’s where it makes a difference in your team. That’s the first time we’ve really been able to do that in fall camp. Injury wise we’re in pretty good shape. Evan Hinson was having a hard time breathing earlier in camp. He had a irregular heartbeat. He’s going to have a ablation surgery on Wednesday, which is very similar to what happened to Taylor Stallworth three years ago. It’s a six to eight-week recovery. He’s going to be fine. I’m glad we caught it on the echo (cardiogram). J.T. Ibe strained his pec – the same injury he had at Rice. It’ll probably be a week before we get him back. He’ll be fine. Donell Stanley had a little bit of a back spasm and did not scrimmage today, but he’s going to be fine. He’ll be back this week. Kiel Pollard’s got a little bit of a stinger – we’re working through that process right now. Tavien Feaster has been practing, but he’s been non-contact since we had to remove his tooth. It was an infected tooth, and they didn’t want him to have contact. He’ll be cleared for full-contact when we get back at it Wednesday. Tomorrow is an NCAA mandatory off day, but we’ll have meetings and walk-through. Kier Thomas will be cleared next week.”

On progress he’s seen as far as holding onto the football
“””Well, we had one interception today in a fourth down situation where we needed to throw the football. I believe that was the only turnover that we had all day. That’s good for the offense, bad for the defense – we need to get the ball off people better. We’ve done a nice job in camp defensively. Because we do so many two and three-spot drills, sometimes it’s some down the line guys turning the ball over. From my seat, you’ve got to keep that all in prospective. Today we did a nice job protecting the ball. There was some good battles on both ends. I thought we played really well defensively in the red area holding people to field goals. Obviously offensively, 70 percent of the time we want to score touchdowns. We didn’t do that today, but we took care of the ball. Whatever positive it is on one side, it’s a negative on the other.”

On if he saw Ryan Hilinski and Dakereon Joyner get the ball out quicker today
“No, at that position, we’re not getting the ball out quick enough. All three guys – we’re not getting the ball out quick enough. We’ve got to have a better time clock – especially in 1-minute situations. If you take a sack, the drive is over. It’s a clock killer. (We’ve) got to get the ball out quicker from all three guys.”

On guys playing faster in the defensive backfield
“Both corners have had really good camps. We had the one deep ball (today), I don’t remember exactly who it was, but it was a contested ball. Shi (Smith) made a nice play and Jake (Bentley) made a heck of a throw. But it was a contested play, and that’s the positive part from my standpoint. We were in position, but we’ve just got to get the ball down. I’ve seen some good things from Jam (Jamyest Williams) – he’s had a good camp. J.T. (Ibe) has had a good camp. Jammie Robinson has done some really nice things at both nickel and safety. Shilo Sanders made a couple of plays today. He continues to come on for us. We’re excited about Cam (Smith) and things he brings. John Dixon has had a good camp. R.J. (Roderick) and Jamel (Cook) have done some good things at times. The ability is certainly there as far as the talent level is concerned. The secondary is a lot like the offensive line. The communication has got to be on-point. Any lack of miscommunication is normally not a good situation for your team. Those are some things we’ve got to continue to improve on. I think we’re probably further along than we’ve ever been at this point in training camp. I think our guys did a really nice job this summer. I’m pleased with somewhat of where we are right now. We’ve still got a lot of things to improve on.”

On how to judge improvement during an intersquad scrimmage
“Are they correctable errors? Are they correctable situations from a talent standpoint, from a scheme standpoint? If they are, then that’s a good thing. If they’re not, then that’s kind of where you are. You’ve got to understand that and that’s probably a weakness of your team. There were some contested plays on both sides and plays made on both sides that were promising for our team but we still have a ways to go.”

On the play of Dakereon Joyner and Ryan Hilinski and any separation between the two
“There’s not enough right now, but we have to watch the tape and make some evaluations about where we are. I’ve seen some very positive things from both guys and the mistakes being made are both from young players. That’s to be expected at a certain point but at a certain point we also have to push forward.”

On taking strides in improving red-zone efficiency and what makes team good in the red zone
“Offensively, you need to score points 100 percent of the time and if you score touchdowns at a 70 percent rate, you’re probably going to lead the country. Defensively, you want to hold the offense 60 percent of the time of having to kick field goals and if you do that, you’re probably going to lead the country. That’s our standard. That’s where we want to be. Last year, we had 56 opportunities in the red zone and 13 times, we walked away with no points, eight of them being on turnovers, five on downs, some of them were situational as far as the game was concerned that we probably could have kicked a field goal and got points but we didn’t because of the circumstance of the game. Those are our goals in the red zone and our guys understand that. We always spent a lot of time on the red zone. It’s not like we started working on it now. We’ve always spent a lot of time and we had a good period today down there and the defense held them to a field goal in that situation, so that’s good for the defense.”

On the offensive line through 10 days of training camp
“Hutch (Sadarius Hutcherson) has done a nice job at left tackle, with Dylan Wonnum at right tackle. Eric Douglas right now would start at right guard but he’s also our backup at both tackle positions because he’s a very flexible, smart guy who can do a lot of things and is athletic. I think Hank (Manos) is having a really good camp in the center position. You’ve got Chandler Farrell, Donell Stanley and Eric Douglas who can back up and play the center position. At right guard, Eric and Jovaughn Gwyn both had a good battle in camp. Donell has been really good at left guard and Jordan Rhodes has continued to progress for us. The two young tackles are going to be good players. There’s just a lot going on right now for those guys as far as the speed of the game, a lot of installation and how they’re going to handle defensively three down and four down pressures and there’s a lot between Jaylen (Nichols) and Jakai Moore. Both of those guys are going to be good players. They fit athletically. They’ve just got to continue to have the game slow down for them.”

On who is the best running back as of today
“I think Rico (Dowdle) and Mon (Denson) both did some nice things and I think both of those guys have had good camps. Rico’s been is in the best shape he’s ever been in and I like what I saw from those guys running the football.”

On the eagerness of seeing Tavien Feaster at full go before the first game
“No doubt. We’ve been very pleased. He’s extremely intelligent. He can learn. He’s done a really nice job of coming in and the guys have really bought in with him. There’s been nothing but positives and we look forward to him being in some contact situations.”

On what traits would make Dakereon Joyner successful
“He’s got great leadership ability. He positively affects everybody around him. He’s really good with the ball in his hand. He’s a winner. At the end of the day you look at what he did at Fort Dorchester High School and the success that he had there. There’s a lot of intangible qualities that he brings to the table that certainly make him who he is as a quarterback.”

On Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu’s energy in the back of the secondary
“Both of those guys approach practice and preparation the way you’re supposed to. I certainly think it’s helped us. I look at a lot of guys on defense – Javon Kinlaw’s the best shape he’s been in, T.J. Brunson’s had a really good camp. Ernest Jones practices the right way. He’s had a really good camp. Dennis (D.J.) Wonnum, I thought, showed up and did some really nice things for us today. We’ve got a core of guys that have played a lot of football on defense that have helped change the approach to the preparation of practice, the ones you’ve got to have to be successful.”