South Carolina’s secondary is under the microscope after a rough start through the air, but Shane Beamer isn’t backing away from the decision to move on from DQ Smith.
Asked Tuesday whether Smith could have returned for a fifth season, Beamer pushed back immediately.
"Why are you asking about DQ Smith right now," Beamer said.
He followed with, "Why are we asking about DQ today? Are you referring to something to the secondary?"
The answer is yes, and the numbers explain why the conversation came up. South Carolina has allowed 623 passing yards and nine touchdowns this season, and the Gamecocks have given up more explosive plays through the air than most FBS teams - not just most SEC teams. Even if you isolate the two league games, the damage still stacks up against what plenty of teams have surrendered across an entire season.
Kamario Taylor and Keelon Russell both lit it up against South Carolina, and while both quarterbacks may be among the best in the country, the Gamecocks entered the year feeling strong about their defensive backfield. That confidence showed in how they handled Smith’s future.
NCAA rules opened the door for him to return for a fifth season, but South Carolina chose not to bring back the four-year starter at safety. Smith, a Columbia native, is now at Virginia Tech.
It’s easy now to wonder why he isn’t still in Columbia. And in the spirit of accountability, the case for keeping him around is hard to ignore.
Smith was a 45-game starter over four seasons with the Gamecocks, and over those years he played more than 700 snaps in each season. This year at Virginia Tech, he has played 55 total snaps over three games.
Still, Beamer made it clear the problems in the passing game don’t rest on one position group alone.
"I think with some of the explosive plays we've given up, it's been corners, it's been safeties, it's been nickels, it's been linebackers, it's been defensive linemen," Beamer said.
When the topic turned specifically to Smith’s return, Beamer said, "no," indicating South Carolina had no interest in bringing him back.
The Gamecocks did add cornerback Ethan Johnson and kicker Ethan Sanchez, though neither has changed the picture much so far. Johnson, who spent four seasons at Appalachian State, has played just nine snaps this season and hasn’t been on the field since Week 2. Sanchez, a Houston transfer, is not yet eligible.
Beamer said South Carolina is comfortable with the safeties it has in place: Peyton Williams, David Bucey, Kendall Daniels and J’Zavien Currence. He also pointed to Gerald Kilgore, who has played nickel but has experience at safety.
"Wish DQ well. DQ played a lot of really, really good football for us, but we've got four really good safeties that we're playing with right now," Beamer said, "With Peyton Williams and David Bucey and Kendall Daniels and J'Zavien Currence.
Currence is a freshman that went through some growing pains the other night, but is a big-time player, has made some big-time plays and Peyton Williams has played a lot of really, really good football for us. David Bucey is a helluva football player and Kendall Daniels is somebody who was highly recruited in high school that we really like.
We felt like going into the season, let's ride with those four. We still feel that way, plus we have Gerald Kilgore at nickel who's played safety for us, without a doubt.
Beamer also pushed back on criticism aimed at members of the secondary after the last game, saying social media blame didn’t line up with what actually happened on the play.
"I know the gurus - somebody was telling me about some certain guys in our secondary were taking criticism for some of the plays from the other night and these people were breaking down film from one of the touchdown plays and assigning blame. What I was told, who was getting assigned blame on social media is not even close to what was happening on the play. And that's the unfortunate thing.
For Beamer, the bottom line is simple: South Carolina has to clean up the defense, and the secondary has to be better.
"Moral of the story: We've got to play a whole lot better on defense. We have to play a whole lot better in the secondary.
We really like the safeties we have. We wish DQ well."
In Other News...
South Carolina Faces A Dylan Stewart Tension Fans Can't Ignore
The spotlight on South Carolinas defense has shifted abruptly to Dylan Stewart, whose status changed after coach Shane Beamer suspended the sophomore defensive end indefinitely following incidents during the trip to Alabama. The SEC added its own discipline with a one-game suspension after what it described as egregious contact, turning a road game into a much bigger conversation about one of the Gamecocks most talented young players.
Inside the locker room, teammates have backed Stewart while also making clear that accountability still matters to the group. For South Carolina, the situation now sits in the hands of the coaching staff, with the immediate focus on how the Gamecocks handle a player who clearly matters on the field but now has to work his way through a delicate team issue off it. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolinas Slow Start Just Put Shane Beamer Under Real Pressure
A rough opening to the season has put Shane Beamer in an uncomfortable spotlight, with South Carolinas early struggles now carrying real weight beyond the standings. The program is looking at a situation where performance and patience are colliding, and the pressure around the head coach has only grown as the losses pile up and the conversation shifts from fixes to futures.
Around the broader coaching carousel, Marylands Mike Locksley is also facing mounting uncertainty, with reports suggesting his exit is more a matter of when than if. For South Carolina, the bigger issue is what a dismissal would mean on the financial side, which makes the timing and the stakes even more complicated as the Gamecocks weigh where this season is headed. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Faces One Huge Test After Its Cross-Country Win
Clemsons trip to Berkeley ended with a 24-10 win over Cal, and Dabo Swinney was quick to credit the way his team handled the long haul from coast to coast. The Tigers were back in South Carolina immediately afterward, then resumed practice on September 28 as they turned the page from a tough travel week and started focusing on what comes next.
Miami is next, and the timing makes the Tigers response to that cross-country business trip worth watching closely. ACC teams have not always looked the same after making that kind of journey, and Clemson now gets No. 4 Miami on October 3 in a matchup that will say plenty about whether the energy from Berkeley carries over or the long flight starts to show. [Read more 🡒]