South Carolina DB gives Tennessee's WRs some bulletin board material ahead of showdown in Neyland
South Carolina Gamecocks true freshman cornerback Judge Collier made a freshman mistake before even taking the field against the Tennessee Vols this weekend. Collier met with reporters on Tuesday ahead of South Carolina's showdown with Tennessee this weekend and he seemingly dismissed the Vols' passing game as something that won't give the Gamecocks much trouble. […]
South Carolina Gamecocks true freshman cornerback Judge Collier made a freshman mistake before even taking the field against the Tennessee Vols this weekend.
Collier met with reporters on Tuesday ahead of South Carolina's showdown with Tennessee this weekend and he seemingly dismissed the Vols' passing game as something that won't give the Gamecocks much trouble.
The young defensive back was asked on Tuesday about the South Carolina secondary's tough game against Mississippi State last weekend (SC gave up 487 passing yards in their win against the Bulldogs) and if things will improve against the Vols.
"This week we'll come back stronger," said Collier. "We'll be more efficient in the pass game and I feel like we'll able to stop whatever Tennessee throws at us."
When asked specifically about Tennessee's wide receivers, Collier acknowledged that they're talented, but he doesn't think they'll give South Carolina's secondary much trouble.
"They look like a good group of receivers," said Collier. "But I feel like it's nothing that we can't stop. I feel like we have good DBs on the outside and we'll be ready for them."
Collier's confidence is admirable. And maybe he'll prove to be correct. Tennessee hasn't looked "unstoppable" so far this season. And they've been hurting teams more in the run game than in the pass game.
But it feels like we've seen some hints that a breakout game for the Vols' passing attack is on the way. Tennessee's been getting closer the last couple of weeks to exploding offensively — they've just struggled to truly put it all together (oddly enough, this is the same position South Carolina was in last season before they hosted the Vols in Columbia).
Collier may regret his statement or he may not. We'll just have to see how it all plays out on Saturday night in Knoxville.
But while we don't know how the game will turn out, that shouldn't stop Tennessee's wide receivers from using Collier's words as motivation/bulletin board material.
The best coaches in college football constantly scream to "make it personal". Even Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner said on Tuesday that he wants his players to play with a chip on their shoulder.
There's a reason some of the best coaches in the sport seem to parrot each other when it comes to this topic — it's because it works.
The Vols need to play with emotion while not being emotional on Saturday night. And they need to make it personal. Because when you make it personal, it makes it a lot easier to play for 60 minutes without taking a play off.
Shane Beamer explains why South Carolina has a different mindset when playing Tennessee
South Carolina and Tennessee will meet under the lights in Knoxville on Saturday night
