South Carolina football: Kingsley Enagbare rated as SEC’s top pass rusher

South Carolina football has one of the nation’s top pass rushers.

The South Carolina football team is getting ready to kick off spring practice, as Shane Beamer and the new staff will look to identify which players will be difference makers for the upcoming season. While the Gamecocks are shorthanded and unproven at a number position groups, there’s one area where the roster appears ready to make a significant impact.

The defensive line room has a number of playmakers returning in 2021, including Aaron Sterling, Jordan Burch, Jabari Ellis, Tonka Hemingway, Zacch Pickens, and Rick Sandidge. The Gamecocks also added the nation’s sack leader from a season ago in Jordan Strachan, who transferred from Georgia State over the offseason.

The best of the bunch, however, may be rising senior Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare, who ended last year with the second most sacks in the SEC despite missing a couple of games with an injury. He also led the league in forced fumbles with three.

Enagbare’s pass rushing prowess was on full display in 2020, and Pro Football Focus has the analytics to back that up.

Enagbare was the nation’s leading pass rusher on third downs last season, according to PFF, as he posted a grade of 93.6 in third down passing situations.

The Georgia native tallied six sacks, seven tackles for loss, and a pair of quarterback hurries on his way to an All-SEC campaign. Enagbare will try to duplicate those results in 2021 as he leads a front four that should be the defense’s best unit.

All in all, the defensive line will bring back a total of 35 sacks and 53.5 tackles for loss. That talented pass rush will hopefully aid a secondary that will be breaking in new players at a number of positions along the defensive backfield.

It will be interesting to see how Enagbare is used in new coordinator Clayton White’s defensive scheme. Likely, he’ll be used similarly to last season, where the edge rusher can line up in a number of different areas along the front four, both standing up and with his hand in the ground.

Should Enagbare have the same impact in 2021, he’ll begin to see his name moving up draft boards and as he prepares for a stint at the professional level.