South Carolina football legend, future Hall of Famer, gets new NFL opportunity

Of all the positions on the field, the South Carolina football program probably has had the most success sending cornerbacks to NFL success.

From Bobby Bryant in the 1960s and 1970s to Johnathan Joseph to current young players like Jaycee Horn and Cam Smith, the Gamecocks have put a long list of corners in the league. As many talented defensive back alums as USC has placed in the NFL, one name stands above them all.

Stephon Gilmore, a former All-American and 1st-round NFL Draft selection, played 12 combined seasons with the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, and Dallas Cowboys, making the Pro Bowl on five occasions and winning the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Now, Gilmore can say he is entering year 13 as, on Sunday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Gilmore is signing a one-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings worth up to $10 Million.

Gilmore will join a Vikings team that is in somewhat of a rebuild but won the NFC North in 2022. He will join several other alums in Minnesota as tight ends Nick Muse and Trey Knox are also with the team. Gilmore is one of the longest-tenured NFL players ever to come from Carolina and has a really good shot of becoming the first Pro Football Hall of Fame member from the South Carolina football program.

During Stephon Gilmore's college career, he made the All-SEC team all three years he was in garnet and black and was an All-American and a Freshman All-American. He never lost to the rival Clemson Tigers and had some of his best performances against the Palmetto State foe.

Gilmore was one of several big-time prospects from Rock Hill who committed to the Gamecocks under Steve Spurrier and helped propel USC to heights that had never been seen before in Columbia.