South Carolina Gamecocks Jalon Kilgore in Store for Sophomore Surge Season

South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back Jalon Kilgore is in store for a sophomore surge season.

Tennessee tight end McCallan Castles (34) moves past South Carolina defensive back Jalon Kilgore (24) during a football game between Tennessee and South Carolina at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back Jalon Kilgore is in store for a sophomore surge season.

The South Carolina Gamecocks have their fair share of questions on the roster, as do a lot of programs during the preseason leading into a brand new year. However, when taking a look around at the Gamecocks' secondary, they have some playmakers lurking around, and one of them is in store for a sophomore surge in year two.

Jalon Kilgore stepped in a major role for South Carolina in year one as a freshman. He was named a member of the first-team All-American after playing in all 12 games and starting in 11 of them. He finished the season with 76 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one interception. He rotated at both safety and nickel while also serving as the team's leading punt returner. A true jack-of-all-trades player for the Gamecocks and year two could is shaping up to be a special one for him.

The Gamecocks will need a big year of Kilgore. Last season they finished 101st in passing defense, but they also return quite a few key contributors. Nick Emmanwori is a junior safety that is returning and is one of the top defenders in the conference. If Kilgore and Emmanwori play above the high standard they have set in previous seasons, then the Gamecocks could be in great shape to have a much improved passing defense during the 2024 season.

No matter what program it is, stepping onto the field as a true freshman and keeping yourself in the rotation is a hard thing to do. No matter how many stars you have coming out of high school or what your ranking was, playing as a true freshman is not very common. Kilgore defied those odds though, and now will be a player the Gamecocks lean on in year two.

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