Defensive line is South Carolina’s biggest concern in 2016

Coming off a 3-9 season that featured a boat load of injuries, a flood that created a home game in Louisiana and a mid-season retirement from its coach, there are a lot of places to find concerns for the 2016 season for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

How in the world will new coach Will Muschamp and his staff will replace Pharoh Cooper’s tremendous production at wide receiver? That question actually runs deeper, considering the team’s second-leading receiver, TE Jerell Adams is also gone.

What about quarterback? Is January enrollee Brandon McIlwain the answer? What if he ends up starting for the baseball team? How about Connor Mitch (remember him)? Can he re-earn the job he had going into the 2015 season? And where does all of this leave Lorenzo Nunez and Perry Orth, who started the most games last season?

Who’s going to run the ball? Brandon Wilds and Shon Carson are moving on, turning the running back position over to David Williams and a handful of newcomers.

It’s fair to ask questions about Muschamp himself. What did he learn from his time in Florida that he can apply to this program? And can he parlay some early recruiting buzz and strong coaching staff hires into immediate on-field success next fall?

These are all good questions that must be answered for the Gamecocks to escape the SEC East cellar in 2016, but there is one that’s more important.

How can South Carolina fix its defensive line?

There were 128 FBS teams in 2015, and South Carolina ranked 110th against the run last season. The Gamecocks allowed more than 5.1 yards per carry and 26 rushing touchdowns last season — punctuated by The Citadel rushing for 350 yards and four scores in an embarrassing 23-22 loss.

They also ranked near the bottom of the SEC in sacks with 20, led by Darius English’s 4.5.

It’s a unit largely responsible for the team’s last-place SEC finishes in total and scoring defense.

It’s the most critical area of need on the roster, and the new coaching staff agrees.

How can you tell? Have a look at this year’s recruiting class.

There are five defensive ends among the commitments, while DE Keir Thomas and DT Kobe Smith are already enrolled.

2016 DL NEWCOMERS

What jumps out on paper about this group? Length and athleticism. Guys that can get after a passer and occupy offensive linemen so linebackers can make tackles.

And if the returnees on the defensive line aren’t feeling threatened, they’re kidding themselves.

2016 KEY DL RETURNEES

Lewis (45 tackles, 3 sacks) and Sawyer (18 tackles, 2.5 sacks) were JUCO transfers that got a year’s worth of on-the-job training in 2015 with mixed results. English was the team’s most consistent pass rusher, while Whitlow (14 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss) has enough raw athleticism to make him an intriguing prospect.

Muschamp and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson are known for alternating 4-3 and 3-4 looks, usually featuring a couple of guys athletic enough to be rush ends on some plays in a 4-3 set and outside linebackers on other plays in a 3-4 look. English and Whitlow could thrive in that kind of formation, but with the group of incoming pass rushers, the coaching staff is hedging their bets a bit.

Whether it’s the experienced guys taking a step (or two) up in production, or a talented newcomer (Thomas, maybe) making an immediate impact, this is a unit that needs to play better for the Gamecocks to improve on last season’s performance.

Randy Capps

Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.