Gameco*cks' sack time: USC makes changes to get after QB (2024)

COLUMBIA— An emphasis was placed on recruiting pass rushers. South Carolina in 2023 allowed far too many quarterbacks to take their sweet time in the pocket, completing passes that often led to USC defeats.

Kyle Kennard and Gilber Edmond were imported from Georgia Tech and Florida State, respectively, while five-star freshman Dylan Stewart was nabbed from the clutches of every major school in the country. Added to returnees Bryan Thomas and Desmond Umeozulu, it’s a solid, perhaps fearsome, group of five that USC can rotate in to try and make a QB sandwich.

Yet will the numbers be there at the end of the season? They’re judged on sacks, and with the evolution of the game favoring offense, it simply isn’t as easy as it used to be to get one.

“Not many people realize how hard it is to get a sack,” said Kennard, who had six in his final season in Atlanta. “Especially with the modernized way of offense, (they’re) obviously about to throw the ball, so we got tackles that are just jumping out there, and it’s just harder to get closer to them.”

A large reason why the 1985 Chicago Bears are considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest defense, in football history is the savage way they attacked quarterbacks. Defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan would blitz every down if he felt like it, his disregard for QBs as legendary as his coaching genius.

But after that magical season, opposing offenses found the flaw in the Bears’ defense. If sacks were coming because Chicago could “hide” rushers behind a bunched-together formation, well, get rid of the bunch.

Spread it out. Thus, the spread offense.

It’s only continued to evolve, offensive formations stretching sideline-to-sideline and removing any chance of a lurking pass rusher trying to hide behind another. The run-pass option has become a staple of offensive football and is based on the quarterback making a decision to read the defense at the line and hand off or throw.

The ball is leaving the QB’s hand quickly, often too quickly for a defender to get to him. The chance for a sack disappears.

“Teams are getting the ball out quick, they spread you out. Offenses do an even better job at putting defensive ends in tough situations, whether it be RPO stuff or moving the pocket,” USC coach Shane Beamer said. “There’s certainly been some changes to the game over the years that have made it tougher.”

Little-known fact: The Gameco*cks’ 21 sacks were tied for worst in the SEC last year, but their hits on the quarterback (47) ranked second. They were getting there; they just weren’t finishing.

It’s why the newcomers were added for this season, to up that sack number and at the same time decrease the opposing offense’s effectiveness.

“It’s different these days,” USC defensive coordinator Clayton White said. “Obviously with sacks, you definitely want to get those, but with the RPO game and things like that, that has made it harder to get a sack.”

The Gameco*cks’ sack total last year ranked 101st out of 130 in the country. That was actually up one sack from their 2022 total (which tied for next-to-last in the SEC), but each total was behind the 26 from 2021 (which finished third from last).

Hitting the QB was not a problem last year, but leaving QBs upright was. One more hit turns into a sack, and maybe the Gameco*cks win another game and reach their third straight bowl under Beamer.

But they didn’t. And they don’t want the same failure this year. Sacks can definitely help, there’s no doubt, and USC has to get it done no matter how hard it can be.

“Well, if you’re (linebacker) Bam Martin-Scott, it’s not very hard,” cracked Gameco*cks linebacker Demetrius Knight. “The more times that you watch film, it can help you get sacks.”

The projectors at the Long operations center are working overtime.