Post-spring assessment of South Carolina’s 2024 cornerback/nickel room

The GamecockCentral post-spring assessment series on South Carolina’s 2024 squad continues today on defense. Next up, we’re taking a deeper look at the Gamecocks cornerback/nickel room.

Like we’ve done for the other positions, with the exception of the quarterback room, we’ll only be focusing on scholarship players for this breakdown.

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O’Donnell Fortune – Starting in ten of the 11 games he appeared in this past season, Fortune finished with 39 tackles, defended eight passes, had two interceptions, and a tackle for loss. He heads into the 2024 season with one year of eligibility remaining.

Judge Collier – Appearing in all 12 games as a true freshman, Collier started in two of those games last season. Also a contributor on special teams, he finished with ten tackles.

Emory Floyd – Floyd appeared in three games this past season for South Carolina and finished with two tackles. Also a member of the track and field team for the Gamecocks, his speed has also been used on special teams. Floyd has three years of eligibility remaining.

Vicari Swain – Appearing in three games as a true freshman, Swain recorded two tackles. He’ll enter the 2024 season with four years of eligibility remaining.

Zahbari Sandy – Sandy appeared in two games last season as a true freshman and recorded no stats. After suffering a knee injury this past spring, it’s unclear whether we’ll see the young DB at all in 2024. He currently has four years of eligibility remaining.

Jalewis Solomon – A talented four-star athlete for the class of 2024, Solomon finished with 17 interceptions during his high school career.

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David Spaulding – Dealing with injuries the past two years, Spaulding appeared in just three games last season. He finished with five tackles, recorded an interception, and also defended a pass. He returns for his sixth and final year of collegiate football.

Jalon Kilgore – A Freshman All American last season, Kilgore Started in 11 of the 12 games he played in. Playing both safety and nickel, he finished second on the team in tackles with 76, defended seven passes, recorded 1.5 tackles for loss, and had an interception against Tennessee.

Nick Emmanwori – After being named a Freshman All-American in 2022, Emmanwori finished fourth on the team in tackles last season as a sophomore. With 71 tackles, eight pass breakups, and two interceptions, the Irmo native saw the majority of his snaps at safety but he also played some nickel as well. He started in all 11 games that he played in.

DQ Smith – A former Freshman All-American, Smith started in 11 of the 12 games he played in last season as a sophomore. Finishing the year with the third most tackles on the team (73), he also complied 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, two pass breakups, one interception, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble as well. Despite mainly playing safety the past two seasons, he also saw some time at nickel last year.

Takeaways

Heading into the spring, one of the biggest questions surrounding South Carolina’s cornerback room was lack of proven depth. While only time will truly tell, I walked away from this spring feeling a little bit better about this room. Losing a talent like Marcellas Dial to the NFL, someone across from Fortune needs to step up.

Collier made the most out of his opportunities last season and even started in two games when Fortune wasn’t in the starting lineup. But with the young DB banged up for the spring game, Swain took full advantage of his opportunities. Not only did the redshirt freshman play practically the entire game, but he also came up with an interception and made some nice tackles. Swain not only showed why he should be in the mix as one of USC’s top three cornerbacks, but he also made a strong case as to why he shouldn’t be overlooked to be potentially a starter this season too.

Aside from Collier, Spaulding has the most experience with a lot of that coming from the nickel position earlier in his career. That’s one of the reasons why a door was open for Swain to see even reps this spring.

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A couple things to keep in mind as far as where things stand today with this room. Sandy suffered a knee injury this past spring in practice. Based on what Shane Beamer said this spring, it doesn’t appear that we’ll see much of Sandy this year, if at all. In addition, Keenan Nelson Jr. entered the transfer portal on April 26. So what’s that mean? What it means is that there’s even less depth in South Carolina’s cornerback room, at the moment. That won’t only put more pressure on the cornerbacks that were here in the spring but it should create an opportunity for true freshman Jalewis Solomon to see more reps in fall camp as he competes to put pressure on the veterans ahead of him.

I’m not trying to get carried away here when we talk about Solomon but just keep this in mind. Since Torrian Gray arrived in 2021, South Carolina has produced at least one All American in the secondary, each season. Last year, that was Kilgore. The season before that, it was DQ Smith and Nick Emmanwori. Then in 2021, it was senior Jaylan Foster. With the emergence of young stars these past two years in Gray’s secondary, combined with the lack of proven talent, perhaps Solomon will be that next young star in the secondary that the Gamecocks could certainly use.

Early 2024 Week 1 Prediction:

I said this before but it’s the truth. As long as Fortune doesn’t find himself violating any more team rules, he’s the clear favorite to be South Carolina’s No.1 cornerback heading into the 2024 season. That’s not intended to be a shot at Fortune but instead just the reality after being suspended for one full game, as well as a partial game last season. The last thing the Gamecocks need is for him to shoot himself in the foot because they don’t have the proven talent to afford losing him.

While I was very impressed with Swain in both the spring game, as well as what I was told about his progress this spring, I still give Collier the edge to be the other starter at cornerback come Week 1. With a year under his belt, which includes getting a taste of starting in a pair of games last season, unless he has a bad fall camp, he should only continue to get better. But make no mistake, I expect Swain to see plenty of playing time Week 1, even if he’s the No.3 cornerback.

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At nickel, Jalon Kilgore makes the most sense. While I expect Kilgore to also see time at safety, with Smith and Emmanwori also back this season, it comes down to finding ways to put your playmakers on the field. If Smith is able to bounce back this season, having Kilgore at nickel will allow the Gamecocks to do just that. Don’t forget, both Smith and Nelson saw action at nickel last season.

One thing I’m not sleeping on is the impact Solomon could have early. The further away that you play from the football, usually the quicker you’re able to pick things up and see playing time earlier. That’s not always the case, based on a lot of factors, including who’s in front of you, injuries, etc. I could see Solomon seeing time not only at cornerback but also at nickel. The more I watch his film, he’s just a natural ballhawk. If he can pick up the position, which Gray has been able to teach to others like Kilgore last year and Carlins Platel in 2021, Solomon’s versatility could earn him more opportunities to see the field as a true freshman. That includes Week 1, too.

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