Eight games into the season, South Carolina co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke has not lived up to expectations.

Back in February, there was hype surrounding the Hoke hire and how he could fix an abysmal Gamecocks defense.

Last year, South Carolina gave up an average of 432.7 yards per game. Its opponents averaged 6.22 yards per play. This year, the Gamecocks are giving up 430.5 yards per game and 6.07 yards per play.

So not much has changed. Hoke hasn’t delivered what he was hired to do.

So far this year, under Hoke, South Carolina is the No. 94 ranked defense in the country, two spots behind where it finished in 2014.

Hoke hasn’t produced the results expected after successful stints at Florida and in the NFL. The Gamecocks are 106th against the run and 58th against the pass (which was supposed to be Hoke’s specialty).

So what exactly is wrong with this year’s defensive unit?

The players are having trouble grasping Hoke’s 4-3 blitz heavy scheme, which was initially implemented to try to make things easier.

According to the Charleston Post and Courier, Skai Moore, T.J. Holloman and other veteran members of the defense approached Hoke after getting gashed by the Texas A&M offense in the first half last week. They wanted to simplify the defensive calls so that players could focus on fundamentals instead of scheme.

“We just wanted to go in there and stick to the basics, simplify it so there wouldn’t be any question with anybody,” Holloman told the paper. “Everybody had to be accountable for their responsibility, for their gap. So we just wanted to simplify it for everyone, just go out there and just play base defense.”

Hoke abided, and it worked. The Gamecocks allowed only one touchdown in the second half and forced the Aggies to punt on their final three possessions, keeping South Carolina in the game.

No one knows what the future holds for the Gamecocks defense. But right now, it looks like Hoke and the players are still getting to know each other.