South Carolina football: top performers through three games
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina football’s top performers
DEF – Jaylan Foster
Another unknown entering the season was the secondary. The Gamecocks lost five top performers from last year’s secondary, including NFL Draft picks Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu. The new staff came in concerned about both depth and experience, having to fill the voids of four starters on the backend.
That’s not an issue any more.
As we mentioned earlier, the Gamecocks’ defense leads the SEC with six interceptions through three games. They’ve picked off a pair of passes in each game thus far, having returned two for touchdowns. As a team, they’re allowing just 179 passing yards per game despite having faced a couple of very competent passers in Holton Ahlers and JT Daniels.
Senior safety Jaylan Foster is a big reason for that success. He currently leads the team with three picks, including two against Georgia last weekend. His season total could be at four had it not been for an offsides penalty nullifying an interception in the season opener, too.
Foster, like Vann, entered the year unheralded. He started a few games late last season, notching 43 tackles but no one expected him to have the impact he’s had in 2021.
The safety has been a made a huge impact on a defense that’s playing at a pretty high level. The Gamecocks will need his efforts to continue throughout the year if they want to stay competitive in SEC play.