South Carolina football: Kingsley Enagbare to return next season

The South Carolina football team gets its best pass rusher back in ’21.

The South Carolina defense has struggled with losses at every level, having a number of former starters either decide to transfer or declare for the NFL Draft following the firing of Will Muschamp. In total, the Gamecocks have lost six members of the secondary, their leading tackler of the last two seasons, and three defensive linemen.

On Monday, the team finally received some good news, as it learned that leading sack getter JJ Enagbare will return for his senior year.

Enagbare is coming off of his best season as a Gamecock, recording a team-high six sacks over nine games of action. That mark was good enough for a fifth place finish in the SEC in 2020. He also ranked second in the league with three forced fumbles.

Over his three year career, the Georgia native has amassed 77 tackles, 17 of which of come behind the line of scrimmage, and 10.5 sacks. He immediately enters the defensive line room as the team’s best pass rusher, and will likely land a starting role at defensive end for the 2021 season.

This was a move that the Gamecocks desperately needed after losing fifth-year senior end Keir Thomas, who has now moved on to Florida State. Enagbare will be one of just a few upperclassmen in a group that boasts a ton of young, but unproven talent.

His return should allow second-year ends Tonka Hemingway and Jordan Burch to continue to progress without being thrust into a starting role. It should also help remove some pressure from a decimated secondary, as South Carolina will need to antagonize opposing quarterbacks in order to cover up holes in the defensive backfield.

This is the best possible news for the Gamecocks, and comes just a day after the team announced its new defensive coordinator hire. Enagbare will look to improve his draft stock in his senior year, and help his team play “championship level football” in 2021.