South Carolina Football: 5 players whose stock is rising for the Gamecocks
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football players whose stock is up:
Defensive Back Jalon Kilgore
The Gamecock freshman who has played the most snaps so far in 2023 is defensive back Jalon Kilgore. Primarily a safety, Kilgore played the majority of the snaps next to Freshman All-American DQ Smith against North Carolina and Furman in place of the injured Nick Emmanwori (who was also a Freshman All-American in 2022).
For his effort in week 1 against North Carolina, Kilgore earned recognition from On3 as one of the top true freshman performers in the country. He played so well filling in the first two weeks of the season that when Emmanwori was ready to return this past weekend against Georgia, the Gamecock staff was forced to figure a way to get three safeties on the field at a time.
Smith, Emmanwori, and Kilgore all played a lot against the ‘Dawgs, and all three of them played true safety snaps and got some run playing in the box. The combination worked as the trio combined for 25 tackles.
Kilgore is a big-hitting, downhill player who plays very similarly to Emmanwori. Playing behind a defensive line that has struggled against the run, his tackling ability will be extremely important for the success of the 2023 South Carolina team.
Kilgore has earned a significant role moving forward for the Gamecocks, and if he can continue to improve against the pass, he could play his part as a critical member of one the best safety groups to ever play in garnet and black.