COLUMBIA --
While his wife and young children were enjoying the sand and surf at Holden Beach, N.C., this summer, Ellis Johnson would steal back to the family's beach house, fire up the laptop and begin charting plays of the Southern Miss offense.
"I'm really not a beach person," said Johnson, South Carolina's assistant head coach for defense. "I get (video coordinator) Joe Lisle to load my laptop when I head off to the beach, and I sit inside and break film during the hottest part of the day."
Johnson's wife might not always appreciate his film study, but Gamecock fans are grateful for his dedication.
In his first two years at USC, Johnson's defenses have finished in the top 15 nationally and the top four in the SEC. The Winnsboro native received a raise in the offseason that doubled his salary to $700,000.
But to hear USC coach Steve Spurrier talk about Johnson, it might have been the best money the university has spent. After all, it kept the 58-year-old Winnsboro native in Columbia after Georgia and Tennessee came calling.
"I have a lot of friends around the country that say, 'Steve, you've got the best defensive coordinator in the country,'" Spurrier said Wednesday after his media golf outing. "And I say, 'I agree with you.'"
Johnson is arguably among the most prepared.
USC special teams coordinator Shane Beamer, who worked with Johnson at Mississippi State, said Johnson does work usually reserved for graduate assistants -- charting plays from video of upcoming opponents.
"That's how he learns," Beamer said. "And because of that, I think he has almost like a library of knowledge on that opponent."
Johnson uses the summer to break down video of the Gamecocks' first four opponents. The rest he charts during the season, working a week ahead by studying an opponent's most recent games.
He picked up the practice at Alabama while working under Bill Oliver, a longtime defensive coordinator in the SEC. Johnson said the analyses the graduate assistants provide include a team's tendencies in certain situations.
But he said going through every offensive play gives him a better understanding of the offensive coordinator he is trying to out-scheme.
"I feel like I learn the flow of who's calling the other side," he said. "If you break it that way, things will start to show up that you can't find on a computer."
Most SEC observers are predicting the Gamecocks will field another strong defense this season.
There are eight starters returning, although one of the losses was a big one -- All-American linebacker Eric Norwood.
Johnson is optimistic, but will feel better when a couple of key players who were sidelined during the spring following shoulder surgeries -- defensive end Cliff Matthews and cornerback Chris Culliver -- are back on the field.
Culliver's return is particularly important: The 6-foot-1, 197-pound senior is moving from free safety as coaches seek to take advantage of his height and speed.
"He's got some things that hopefully will translate into being a good corner," Johnson said. "But he hasn't had any work there."
Matthews, who weighs 275 pounds after gaining 15 pounds during the offseason, anchors a line that Spurrier called the strength of the defense. Defensive line coach Brad Lawing said he is not worried that the added bulk will slow the speed rush of Matthews, who tied Norwood for the team lead with seven sacks in 2009.
Lawing said Matthews added "muscle mass" -- as opposed to love handles.
While Spurrier concentrates on getting quarterback Stephen Garcia to be more consistent and the offensive line to get tougher, he has few worries about the defense other than wanting it to produce more turnovers.
Spurrier said he has a "wonderful working relationship" with Johnson, who was hired when Brian VanGorder left after a month at USC to return to the Atlanta Falcons.
"We're finishing where we need to be -- in the top four defensively in the conference -- to give us a chance to win the championship," Spurrier said.
"If we can finish in the top four like we've been doing, that should give us a chance."
A top-four finish in the SEC defensive statistics? Just another day at the beach for Johnson.
"I like our kids and I really think we've got a good bunch. Our work habits are good. Our attitudes are good. I think we've got a lot of ingredients to have success," Johnson said. "But I still think we've not really found out who we are. We don't have an identity yet with this particular group.
"We've got to start all over again and hopefully build off what we've done and not try to live off what we've done."
