South Carolina Football’s GOAT Series: Top-12 greatest defensive tackles of all-time
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football’s No.2 Defensive Tackle of All-Time:
Javon Kinlaw
Arguably the most physically-dominant player in Gamecock history, Javon Kinlaw (2017-2019) was a beast. After a short stint in junior college that saw Kinlaw get to Carolina pretty overweight, the hulking defensive tackle went to work fixing his body. Heading into his junior year, Kinlaw had lost thirty pounds but had still added strength. He soon showed he was a force for the South Carolina defense as he put his new body to use, routinely plowing straight through even elite offensive linemen.
In 2018, Kinlaw had 4.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss and had a knack for jumping up and knocking down passes at the line of scrimmage. He was even better in 2019 as he logged 6 sacks and became the focal point of every offensive line he matched up against. Kinlaw was so outrageously disruptive that he was selected as a first-team All-American in 2019 and was picked in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He is headed into his fourth year with the San Fransisco 49ers.