Carolina Made: What South Carolina looks for at the Buck position
March 10, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. — According to South Carolina assistant coach Mike Peterson, Brad Johnson is a great fit for the “Buck” position in the Gamecocks defense.
The Buck, which is a hybrid of the outside linebacker/defensive end positions, was occupied by Darius English in 2016. Less than two months after English’s only season playing the position in Will Muschamp’s defense, South Carolina signed Johnson, who was ranked as the No. 22 weak-side defensive end in the Class of 2017, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
“He fits it, and the good thing about it, he had the chance to come here and work out at one of our summer camps,” Peterson said. “I worked him out hard. The guys will tell you, I put him through it. I told coach, I said I want to see what he’s made of.”
For Peterson, a former NFL linebacker with the Falcons, Jaguars and Colts, that’s an important part of the evaluation process.
“If this is a guy I’m going to be coaching, I want to see how he’s built. (Johnson’s) built how I want you to be built to play the Buck position here,” Peterson said. “I think he is, along with a lot of other guys that (signed): Damani (Staley), Davonne Bowen, all those guys came here and we worked them out.
“When you get a chance to work a guy out hard, you get a chance to see exactly what you’re dealing with. That’s a good thing.”
When evaluating prospects for the Buck position, Peterson starts in the same spot. It’s a pretty tried and true formula for all positions in football.
“My first thing, it’s really easy, I want to see how tough a guy is. When I say tough, I mean not just tough and I’ll run through that wall. I mean, tough when things aren’t going so easy, what are you going to do,” Peterson said. “When I’m getting on you for making a bad play or not doing what you’re supposed to be doing, how are you going to respond?”
He added, “I want him to be an athletic guy. Mentally, I want to know if he loves football. If you love football, love to compete, a tough guy — I can find something that you can do well for this team.”
SECCOUNTRY
March 10, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. — According to South Carolina assistant coach Mike Peterson, Brad Johnson is a great fit for the “Buck” position in the Gamecocks defense.
The Buck, which is a hybrid of the outside linebacker/defensive end positions, was occupied by Darius English in 2016. Less than two months after English’s only season playing the position in Will Muschamp’s defense, South Carolina signed Johnson, who was ranked as the No. 22 weak-side defensive end in the Class of 2017, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
“He fits it, and the good thing about it, he had the chance to come here and work out at one of our summer camps,” Peterson said. “I worked him out hard. The guys will tell you, I put him through it. I told coach, I said I want to see what he’s made of.”
For Peterson, a former NFL linebacker with the Falcons, Jaguars and Colts, that’s an important part of the evaluation process.
“If this is a guy I’m going to be coaching, I want to see how he’s built. (Johnson’s) built how I want you to be built to play the Buck position here,” Peterson said. “I think he is, along with a lot of other guys that (signed): Damani (Staley), Davonne Bowen, all those guys came here and we worked them out.
“When you get a chance to work a guy out hard, you get a chance to see exactly what you’re dealing with. That’s a good thing.”
When evaluating prospects for the Buck position, Peterson starts in the same spot. It’s a pretty tried and true formula for all positions in football.
“My first thing, it’s really easy, I want to see how tough a guy is. When I say tough, I mean not just tough and I’ll run through that wall. I mean, tough when things aren’t going so easy, what are you going to do,” Peterson said. “When I’m getting on you for making a bad play or not doing what you’re supposed to be doing, how are you going to respond?”
He added, “I want him to be an athletic guy. Mentally, I want to know if he loves football. If you love football, love to compete, a tough guy — I can find something that you can do well for this team.”
SECCOUNTRY