South Carolina football: JJ Enagbare picked 21st in mock draft

The South Carolina football program has seen three players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since 2018. Those three former stars were Hayden Hurst, Javon Kinlaw, and last year’s first defensive player off the board in Jaycee Horn. Now, it looks like the Gamecocks might see another go as soon as next season.

24/7 Sports recently unveiled its 2022 NFL mock draft, and a familiar name to South Carolina fans popped up at No. 21. Kingsley Enagbare was projected to go in the first round to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Here’s what the site had to say about the talented pass rusher.

"In his first three years with South Carolina, Enagbare scored 77 tackles, including 10.5 sacks. After his 2020 season, he was named to the first team All-SEC team."

Enagbare led the Gamecocks with six sacks a season ago, and he ranked second in the conference with .75 sacks per game. That came in an all-SEC slate that consisted of 10 league foes. Rather than jump to the NFL, Enagbare returned for his senior season in Columbia in hopes of maxing out that first-round potential.

He’s seen his sack totals increase each year, and while he may have some work to do improving his run defense, Enagbare’s abilities off the edge are very evident. The all-conference performer has received preseason praise from ESPN’s Mel Kiper, who also considers the pass rusher a first round talent, and he’s viewed by SEC coaches as one of the league’s best players. For that reason, he accompanied his new head coach Shane Beamer to SEC Media Days last month.

Enagbare should thrive in the Gamecocks’ new defensive scheme, which puts more of an emphasis on getting to the quarterback. Expect the defense to play aggressively at the line of scrimmage as they look to utilize a front four that could turn out to be one of the nation’s best.

That will only come to fruition, though, if Enagbare can provide another productive campaign in Columbia. If he does, expect to hear his name called on day one of the ’22 NFL Draft.