Everything South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White said during his Monday spring practice update

On Monday, Gamecocks defensive coordinator Clayton White spoke to the media to update how his unit is progressing through spring practice. Here’s everything he had to say.

Opening statement

“Hope you guys are doing great. Good afternoon. So glad to be here. Obviously, it’s the last week of spring football. Ready to get going. Our team has been doing a really good job over the past three or four weeks, working hard, staying on the same page, and getting better every single day.”

Justin Okoronkwo mentioned how much more comfortable he’s feeling going into year two. Is that something you saw from him growing throughout last season?

“Absolutely. He is one of those guys who picked up things pretty easily. You can tell that as the year was going on last year, he was getting very comfortable with our system and very comfortable playing together with the guys here at South Carolina. Obviously, going to this offseason every single day, he soaks in all the information and does a really good job of just taking in all the information from Coach (Trey) Money and me. He’s doing a really good job, big picture-wise, on the defense.

“It is a good group. Those guys are very experienced. They understand exactly what we’re about to say as coaches regarding our system. That’s really cool to have that in your room.”

Is there anything that you want to see from your defense in the last scrimmage that you haven’t seen?

“To me right now it’s just, just playing on the same page. The communication piece. I think our efforts and execution have been there. There are obviously some mistakes out there on the field. No one’s perfect. We were striving for that kind of stuff. I think our guys are getting better every day in regards to just understanding the defense with all the new people. The old guys are trying to teach the way we play, and just the communication piece of it.

“That’s always the barrier that you go through when you have this many guys. The way we structure practice this year, we have to do it all on basically two days a week. I think our guys are getting better at it, but that’s something we want to continue doing.”

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Do you feel like you’re on pace from a communication standpoint or behind more than years past?

“When you want to compare it to certain things, obviously, you can go back a little bit. I feel like we were a little bit more experienced regarding guys being in the system like this. The linebackers are in their second and third year in the system, and they’re pretty comfortable. The safeties are most of that. You know, Peyton (Williams) is very comfortable. Up front is where the communication is new. Not saying we’re behind. They’re definitely striving to meet the standards and expectations. I do believe that they’re a little behind the guys who have been here 3 or 4 years, naturally, but not because of talent or work or teaching or anything like that.

“That’s something I’m excited about for the next two weeks after spring ball. That’s why we kind of changed our schedule a little bit, to give us two more weeks to kind of clean up instead of just going to the spring game. Go home. See you in June. But now we get a chance to clean up and kind of sharpen some more tools before we leave.”

What do you feel like is the next step for Peyton Williams?

“Last year, he kind of silently had a really solid season with forced fumbles and got his hands on some footballs and tackling. Continue to become a playmaker, just really step up the leadership part. It’s to kind of the next man, the next safety in line kind of attitude. We’ve had some really good safties come through here since we’ve been here. It’s his time, and he is doing a great job of leading. He’s going for the football every single day. He’s giving nice, clean punchouts. Punchout opportunities are sometimes more important than the actual punchout.

“It’s on your mind, and you’re trying to get the football. He’s teaching the young guys. He’s teaching the newer guys or the younger players that are in our defense, the new and the young guys, like J’Zavien Currence and Kendall Daniels and all those guys. He’s done a really good job of just teaching them the game, along with (Chris) Hatfield and (David) Bucey.

“It’s cool watching that. I see a mistake sometimes, I’ll look at Peyton and say, ‘I can fix it, but I would love it if you fix that for me,’ just to kind of encourage that kind of stuff.”

What is your perspective on the offense’s new tempo, and how does that help your guys get more prepared?

“For us, it’s very helpful. It kind of puts you in the game mode really fast, as far as a play caller and mode of operation on defense. You can’t lollygag around. You’ve got to be smart with your substitutions. Your signaler guys have got to be sharp. Got to be on point. Our guys have to get their eyes to the sideline. They can’t spend five seconds talking to each other about if this, if that, no. Turn your [butt] around and let’s go. That puts us really in a good mind of, just a good mode of play.

“Getting us ready for the fall. It’s definitely a challenge. It definitely has its strengths and weaknesses on both sides for both units. I think our offensive coordinator does a really good job. He’s very experienced at it. So he knows when to use it, when not to use it.”

You mentioned Kendall Daniels Jr. was a guy who needed to take that next step. Have you seen that from him this spring?

“Absolutely. He’s working very hard. It’s one of those things where you think it’s just going to happen. I think as a young safety like himself, he learned, okay, every single day we’re going to install new calls, install new checks. It’s going to be a different formation that our offense presents that we didn’t show you during the installation. Those are the kind of things that make you grow as a young safety. Peyton has seen them; David (Bucey) has seen him. But Kendall may not have seen this. Oh, this is a different formation. This is a different move by the tight end that we haven’t seen.

“He’s growing every day, I promise. You have to get those reps, those repetitions on the field to see those looks, and get very familiar with those releases and formations and stuff.”

Through these spring practices and scrimmages, what stood out about the way the defensive tackle room has progressed?

“The good thing about that room is those guys, they work together, they work very hard. Coach Robertson and Coach J-Will (Jordan Williams) have done a really good job of developing, coaching, and teaching. I really like how all of them are big, which I like that part. They all can move. We have from 290 to 350; they all bring something different to the game. I think that’s been my favorite part as well. There are some pass rushers in that room. There are some run stoppers, there are some combo guys, some guys that are pluggers, guys that can plug and make plays.

“We kind of get to pick a little bit. I have to do a really good job as a coach and with Coach Robertson, about who’s in the game. That’s going to depend on kind of the style of play that we play out front. We got 345 pounds out there. We probably play more of a plug defensively. I think this is really, really good to have those options. They are doing a really good job, working hard. And they’re learning the playbook very well.”

Are the options a little more varied with the different personnel at the tackle spot?

“Yes. If you can recall back to 2024, we had what we call basically pass rush guys, three technique type bodies, which were T.J. (Sanders) and Tonka (Hemingway). Even Davonte Miles at one time. Then we had more inside guys like Nick Barrett, Monkell (Goodwine), and (DeAndre) Jules, kind of plugs. And I’m missing one. The other guy who played a lot. But those three were plugger-type guys. This year, I feel like we have a little bit of both, so I think that’s cool.

“And then we’re back to kind of what we had in ’24 in regards to having a couple of each one. We call them the three techniques and nose (tackles).”

Do you think the high tempo of the offensive factors into where you are communication-wise, and do you want to see that progress a little more?

“Definitely plays a role, starting with the main thing, just getting into it. Which I’m not in a rush to do it. That kind of work kind of gives them anxiety a little bit. We kind of want to be very urgent and make sure we’re on point on our P’s and Q’s with it. It really does help because it starts with the nickel. Where’s the nickel? Are we going to as he’s going to be to the boundary or to the field? So we don’t have a lot of time to kind of assess that as a back seven. And even the front needs to know as well.

“That’s the main thing. It helped us speed up that communication, regarding our strict passing strength of where our nickel is going to go. So it kind of sets the defense. It’s been good, though. It really makes you honest about what you’re doing. You can’t really try to be too tricky because they can end up snapping the ball. It happened on Saturday.”

Is Jamil Walker still helping out with the group at all or is he back doing his other thing?

“He’s back doing his other thing. I’ll also check on his son (Julian Walker), too. I’m just kidding. But no, he’s back doing his thing in the weight room with Coach (Luke) Day, but he’s definitely nearby. We like him on the defensive side. Brings a little bit of darkness to what we’ve got going on, but we like that. He’s great. He’s a great resource to have regarding just the mental state of our players and just a physical mindset. But it’s great to have him somewhat on our side. We don’t want to be picking and choosing right now. You’ve got to be very neutral. But he has a son over there, so I think we got Jamil.”

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