The Future Is Now: South Carolina football freshmen who are ready to help right now
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football freshmen ready to help right now:
Defensive Backs Judge Collier, Vicari Swain, Emory Floyd, and Keenan Nelson
The South Carolina football program is loaded with young talent in the secondary. It is no coincidence that the roster looks the way it does when one remembers that the Gamecocks hired one of the country’s best defensive backs coaches in Torrian Gray in 2021.
Jalon Kilgore has already made his mark as a true freshman, but other young secondary players could be ready to help out sooner rather than later, as well.
Redshirt freshmen Emory Floyd and Keenan Nelson have both played more than a few snaps this season with Nelson starting the past two games at nickel. Nelson has struggled at times, but he is gaining valuable experience. Floyd has played fewer snaps but had a nice pass breakup against Furman this past Saturday.
True freshmen Judge Collier and Vicari Swain are athletic freaks who have extremely high ceilings. Collier has played significantly more than anyone thought he would when he signed with the Gamecocks in the 2023 recruiting class, and Swain is one of the biggest upside players on the entire team.
4 of the 5 starters appear set in the secondary (cornerbacks Marcellas Dial and O’Donnell Fortune and safeties Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith), and Jalon Kilgore will play a lot at safety, but these other freshmen are all vying for work at nickel and in a reserve corner role that could be important in SEC play.