South Carolina Football’s GOAT Series: Top-12 greatest defensive tackles of all-time
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football’s No. 11 Defensive Tackle of All-Time:
Cecil Caldwell
South Carolina has had a stretch of really good defensive tackles that began in the early 1980s, and Cecil Caldwell (1996-2000) might be the most underrated. Caldwell was a very athletic tackle who excelled at chasing down running backs from behind on sweep plays. #96 was a bit undersized but made up for it with a high motor and consistent play. Whether as a rotational tackle early in his career or as a full-time starter later on, Caldwell always played an important role for the garnet and black.
Caldwell was at times overshadowed by other talented defensive linemen during his Gamecocks career (John Abraham, Langston Moore, Cleveland Pinkney, etc.), but he always managed to contribute at a high level above his talent. He was a team captain his senior season and finished his career fifth in Gamecock history in tackles for loss (32) and ninth in sacks (15).