South Carolina Football: Gamecock freshman honored yet again

South Carolina football safety/nickel Jalon Kilgore has been recognized several times already for his strong 2023 debut season as the true freshman was one of the top defensive backs in the SEC this year.

Last week, the SEC head coaches named Kilgore to the Freshman All-SEC team (along with teammate Tro Baugh). He was also named to the Freshman All-American team by 247Sports earlier this week.

Another Freshman All-American honor has come through for Jalon Kilgore as ESPN put the talented defensive back on their Freshman All-American team.

Kilgore was among the best defenders in the SEC in 2023. He finished 12th in the conference in tackles and was 2nd on the Gamecocks' D behind linebacker Debo Williams. He also finished 2nd among all freshman in the league in both tackles and passes defended.

Kilgore is the third Freshman All-American safety to come out of the South Carolina football program in the last two years as Columbia natives Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith both received the honor last season for the Gamecocks.

Kilgore split time in 2023 between safety and nickel, and while safety is his natural position, he played better than the Gamecocks' other options at nickel. With Emmanwori and Smith both appearing to be coming back for another year in Columbia, it remains to be seen how Carolina will utilize their three-man safety group.

Interestingly for Kilgore, the South Carolina football coaching staff is recruiting his older brother. Gerald Kilgore, who just finished his redshirt freshman season at Tennessee Tech, is a versatile defensive back (just like his brother) who entered the transfer portal and seems destined for a role at a bigger school.

Florida Atlantic, West Virginia, and South Carolina were named in Kilgore's top-3 schools, and he plans on taking visits to those schools before making his final decision. If the elder Kilgore picks the Gamecocks, the brothers could have up to three seasons playing together in Columbia.