Lorenzo Nunez will face a tough Mizzou defense (photo/USC Athletics)
The South Carolina defense will be facing true freshman quarterback in Drew Lock. “They’ve played him in every game,” said co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke. “You can tell he has a very strong arm. He knows where to go with the ball. He understands their offense. When he has played, he’s looked very poised.”
Hoke doesn’t anticipate doing much differently despite Mizzou’s change in quarterbacks. “They’re going to run their offense,” said Hoke. “The only thing that was a little bit different… this guy is mobile, but he’s not “Mauk-mobile.” He can move in the pocket. So you don’t really change that much from what you were going to do from a schematic standpoint. You may change the way you do certain things or call certain things, but for the most part, you’re going to defend what they do.”
That’s exactly what Gary Pinkel said this week. The playbook will not change. While Hoke says Lock is not “Mauk-mobile,” that’s not a bad thing. Lock showed his ability to run, when he took off and darted for 11-yards in his first play against Kentucky.
He also couldn’t avoid the pass rush later in that drive, but that wasn’t lack of scrambling ability. Lock said that was him sticking with his read too long and by the time he looked the pass rush was on him.
Phil Kornblut from SportsTalkSC.com visits with me and tells us about USC’s freshman quarterback. Plus we discuss the adversity both teams face in the SEC East.
