Can Jon Hoke Help Turn South Carolina's Defense Back to the Glory Days?

South Carolina's defense was more punchline than power in 2014, after the Gamecocks gave up an SEC-worst 6.22 yards per play and 432.7 yards per game—the second-worst mark in the conference.

Times, they are a-changin'.

Head coach Steve Spurrier hired Jon Hoke on Monday to help kick-start his defense, according to Josh Kendall of GoGamecocks.com:

Hoke, who most recently was the defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears from 2009-2014, will officially be the co-defensive coordinator in charge of the pass defense, according to Kendall. Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward will stay on and assume the title of co-defensive coordinator in charge of the run defense.

Is Hoke the magic elixir to get the Gamecocks back to the glory days when they were finishing in the top half of the SEC in defense consistently? 

That's unlikely.

He's simply one piece of a complicated puzzle that includes coaching, scheme and personnel.

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Ward wasn't South Carolina's biggest problem last year. The absence of three starters up-front on the defensive line and a remarkably inexperienced secondary was a recipe for disaster in Columbia. The Gamecocks finished last season with the fewest sacks in the SEC (14), fewest tackles for loss (52), fourth-fewest interceptions (11) and gave up the most red-zone touchdowns in the conference (36).

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Hoke will help fix that, specifically in the secondary. 

Coaching defensive backs has either been part or all of his responsibility since 1982, and that experience in college and pro football will be a huge benefit in Columbia. In addition to his work with the Bears, he has coached defensive backs for the Houston Texans, the Missouri Tigers and was Florida's defensive coordinator from 1999-2001.

It's still up to the personnel on the roster, though, to take the next step.

Only two of South Carolina's 11 interceptions last year were by members of the current secondary—cornerback Chris Moody and safety T.J. Gurley each had one.

Moody will be back, along with Rico McWilliams, sophomores Chris Lammons, Al Harris Jr. and D.J. Smith (who could also play safety) and redshirt freshman Wesley Green.

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With the ultraversatile Brison Williams gone, somebody has to step up and become the leader in the secondary. Gurley could be the guy.

Perhaps most important for the safeties, though, is the front seven stepping up and doing their jobs. The Gamecocks finished next to last in the SEC in rush defense (212.23 YPG), and safeties were asked to help out against the run far too often, which left Gamecocks corners on islands on play-action passes.

Hoke can help that young secondary take a step forward, but if he doesn't get help from Ward, the run defense and, specifically, the defensive line, it won't matter all that much.

He's a small piece to a very big puzzle, and Spurrier is still scrambling to find those pieces.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.