Muschamp has proven record with DBs

In assessing South Carolina's current roster, it could easily be argued that there is no bigger need to fill through recruiting that the defensive back position.

Saying nothing of overall talent, the sheer numbers are staggering. South Carolina projects to return just eight scholarship players for the 2017 season from the roster as currently composed, a number that could be even lower following the 2016 campaign. That counts early enrollee Chris Smith, but not JUCO transfer Jamarcus King, who will arrive this summer and will be an upperclassman immediately.

On top of the numbers, it's no secret that Will Muschamp hopes to give the cornerback, nickel, and safety positions a serious shot in the arm from a talent standpoint. There is only one way to do that: recruiting. That's why Muschamp and his staff are setting out to load up on defensive backs in the 2017 cycle, a class that holds some top-notch talents in the secondary that USC is pursuing.

Although the competition for top prospects will be stiff, when making his pitch to defensive back prospects, Muschamp will at least be armed with plenty of ammunition to recruit to USC's situation. The opportunity for early playing time is obvious, to put it lightly. For safety prospects, Muschamp has the added bonus of selling the fact that they will be personally coached by him. Perhaps the most intriguing of all? USC's biggest recruiting need happens to be a specialty of Muschamp's, with a proven record for developing secondary players for the next level.

During his 17 years as an on-field college coach (full-time assistant, coordinator, or head coach), Muschamp has coached 21 defensive backs who have gone on to become NFL Draft picks.

Those 21 players have signed contracts worth and/or earned money approaching the $220 million mark in total as professionals and accumulated 108 seasons of NFL service time overall.* Players listed in the breakdown below were coached at the college level by Muschamp for at least one season. The 21-player mark does not account for undrafted free agents.

* Figures according to Sportrac. Numbers are approximate, calculated to the highest rate of accuracy given available information, and do not account for reductions for injury pay, practice squad time, or other factors that could skew the overall figures. When possible, numbers are related to actual cash earnings but with some players represent the dollar figure of career contracts.

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