Game Prep: Aggie Defense Led By Secondary
The South Carolina Gamecocks are facing a team in Texas A&M that many believe will be coming into Columbia on Saturday night with a sense of urgency, as the Aggies have lost both of their last two games, leading to a 3-3 record halfway through their season.
The majority of the issues lie on the offensive side of the ball, where the Aggies are currently sporting one of the worst scoring offenses in football, averaging just 21.5 PPG, the worst mark in the SEC.
On the flip side of the coin, however, the defense continues to be a reliable strength for the team that resides in College Station, as they're only giving up an average of 18.8 PPG, which is the 21st-best mark in college football. I went back and watched their game against Miami, due to the similarity in diversity between the Hurricanes and Gamecocks offense, to see what makes this defense click.
A Sound Secondary
The main thing that jumped out to me about this unit was how much initiative and pride they played with throughout the game, especially when it came to any perimeter runs or passes. Multiple players were meeting ball carriers and receivers at or near the line of scrimmage and either would make the play right then and there or force the said player to run out of bounds for a minimal gain.
It also became quite apparent how well-coached this defensive backfield is, as they understand the importance of leverage when attacking an offensive player. More often than not, they won their battles because of their technique.
Trust In The Defensive Front
Another thing that stuck out to me, specifically regarding the playcalling of Aggies' defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, was how much comfort he seemed to have in bringing little to no extra help to the box defenders in terms of blitzes. Although, at one point in this game, Texas A&M was playing without four defensive backs due to suspension or an ejection for targeting.
This tells me that Durkin has a great deal of confidence in the guys the Aggies have on the line of scrimmage and the second level to go out there and impact the game. In particular, interior defensive linemen Isaiah Raikes and Shemar Turner stood out to me with how much of a handful they were for Hurricane linemen both in run blocking and pass protection.
Texas A&M has a tremendous all-around defense that can keep them in any game, no matter what their offense does or doesn't do.
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