PFF breakdown: Jatius Geer
Shane Beamer and South Carolina set out this offseason to fortify its edge position, and the Gamecocks got some help Thursday afternoon.
Jatius Geer, who started his career at Syracuse, officially hopped in the class. He’ll join the Gamecocks’ program this summer as a defensive end.
What exactly is South Carolina getting in Geer? Let’s take a look at some of the advanced Pro Football Focus (PFF) numbers to get an idea.
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For starters, Geers’ PFF grade doesn’t jump off the page, just 44.8 overall. He struggled grade-wise in run defense and tackling at times.
If there is a bright spot there, Geer was playing a lot better at the end of the season. Four of his top six overall grades came after week seven, including a bowl game against Minnesota. Five of his six best tackling grades came after week nine and he’s always been a good pass rusher.
There are also more advanced numbers outside of grades that indicate he’ll be an impactful player for the Gamecocks next season.
According to PFF, Geer finished with 27 quarterback pressures, five sacks, six quarterback hits and 16 quarterback hurries this season.
His best games came against Purdue where he had seven pressures and four hurries then a five-pressure, three-hurry day against NC State.
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Here’s where those numbers would rank if he played for the Gamecocks last season: second in pressures, first in sacks, tied for second in quarterback hits and tied for second in quarterback hurries.
Only Jordan Burch had more pressures, hits and hurries. Gilber Edmond finished last season with six quarterback hits and Tonka Hemingway had 16 quarterback hurries.
So there’s a real thought that if those numbers stand up as Geer jumps to South Carolina and the SEC he could be an integral piece of what the Gamecocks do defensively.
Geer also played end in a 3-4 defense. He’ll jump to an even, four-down front under Clayton White. That could certainly accentuate his skill set a little bit better.
His run defense could certainly improve, and he did miss five tackles last season, but he did have 12 stops in the run game. PFF considers a stop a tackle that constitutes a failure for the offense.
So there is a skillset and a body type to help in the run game as well, something the Gamecocks need to bolster this offseason.
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Geer played 557 snaps last season with the most (43.4 percent) coming at the outside defensive line spot. Playing in that 3-4 system, Syracuse lined him up 149 times over an offensive tackle. He also lined up 166 times as a nose tackle in the interior.
So while South Carolina is going to use him on the edge, there is some flexibility to move him around. That’s if the Gamecocks want to use him a few different packages.
Geer still isn’t a finished product, and no one expects him to be as just a redshirt freshman.
But Geer does give the Gamecocks a productive player at a position of insane need: EDGE. And he’s someone who could chisel out a starting role early in his time here.
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