It’s easy to make the case that landing five-star defensive lineman Jordan Burch was the biggest recruiting win of Will Muschamp’s coaching career.

Sure, you could argue that Burch being a local product made it easier for Muschamp to keep the five-star lineman in-state but coming off a 4-8 season and the coach being listed on nearly every offseason hot seat list had to make the recruitment of the Columbia native that much more difficult.

Despite the challenge of keeping Burch from the likes of LSU, Clemson and Georgia, Muschamp and his Gamecock program managed to do just that as Burch finally signed his letter of intent to play for South Carolina following some National Signing Day drama.

Burch won’t be arriving on campus until the summer but that didn’t stop reporters from asking about South Carolina’s five-star signee during Muschamp’s Tuesday press conference that opened spring camp in Columbia.

While some recruiting services have Burch listed as a defensive tackle, Muschamp says the five-star lineman will play the Buck position in his defense.

“He’ll be playing the Buck position,” Muschamp shared. “My expectation for Jordan will be just like it is for every freshman that steps on campus in June, work extremely hard and we’ll see where the chips fall. You’ll have an opportunity to be a starter, you’ll have an opportunity to play, but I tell him the same thing I tell everybody, the best guy is going to start and if you are good enough you are going to play.

“You are going to determine that, not me, in how you come in and perform. He understands that and he’ll have every opportunity in the world to be successful, just like (fellow freshmen and summer enrollees) Alex Huntley, Makius Scott, just like Rico Powers, just like every other freshman we have.”

If you are unfamiliar with what exactly the Buck position is in Muschamp’s defense, it’s a player that will potentially line up all over the defense but will primarily line up at the defensive end and outside linebacker spots. The Buck can be moved inside on passing downs or to middle linebacker on occasion. Basically, you have to have the mass to fill several spots while having the speed combination to play on the edge of the defense to rush the passer or play in pass coverage when necessary.

Muschamp was later asked a follow-up question regarding why Burch fits the Buck position.

“His biggest trait is going to be rushing the passer and win on the edge, in our league,” Muschamp answered. “We feel like that’s a different position, you’ve got to be able to have that combination athletically to do those things. We feel like he posses those characteristics.”

Measuring in at 6-foot-5, 265-pounds and often being the fastest player on the field at the high school level confirms Muschamp’s feelings on the matter.