CBS Sports ranks South Carolina football secondary in top half of SEC units

One of the most interesting position groups on the South Carolina football roster is the defensive backfield. The Gamecock secondary has a lot of proven talent at the safety position, though, they haven't always been played in their best spots. There also are a bunch of unproven but still talented players at corner, as well.

Even so, the 2024 version of the USC secondary was selected as the 8th-best unit in the SEC by CBS Sports/247Sports' Brad Crawford.

The defense, as a whole, should be much better in 2024, and the secondary will play a big role in that potential improvement.

Nick Emmanwori, a junior, likely is in his last year as a Gamecock because the NFL will come calling next offseason. He and DQ Smith were Freshman All-Americans back in 2022. Jalon Kilgore, a big-time safety prospect out of high school, split his time between safety and nickel in 2023 and also was a Freshman All-American. He finished the year as the team's nickel and seems poised to continue at that spot in 2024.

At corner, O'Donnell Fortune is a returning starter, but a bevy of young talent will be competing for the other starting spot. Former 4-star high school prospects Vicari Swain (redshirt freshman), Jalewis Solomon (freshman), and Emory Floyd (redshirt sophomore) will battle with Judge Collier (sophomore) for that position. Last year, Collier was the first corner off the bench in most situations, including both of the times in which Fortune was suspended. By the end of the year, those players could push Fortune for his spot, as well.

The secondary wasn't great in 2023, especially against the pass, but much of their problems in coverage came from issues with positioning (primarily playing safeties in man coverage at nickel) and with the team's lack of a pass rush. With the influx of talent on the defensive line this offseason, the pass rush should improve, making the secondary better by default.

According to the rankings, only the Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide, Kentucky Wildcats, Missouri Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M Aggies, and Texas Longhorns should have a better group of safeties and corners than South Carolina football.