Talking season, players to watch: Jalon Kilgore

In a safety room that has plenty of talent and experience at the top, Jalon Kilgore‘s versatility is what makes him so valuable to South Carolina.

A Freshman All-American last season, Kilgore started in 11 of the 12 games he appeared 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.

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What makes Kilgore so intriguing to pay attention to this year is how quickly he was able to adjust to the college game as a true freshman. Not only did he excel at safety but he was also able to learn a new position on the fly as well.

“Last year, I came in during spring and I was learning free and strong. As the season went on, I started to learn some more nickel,” Kilgore said in April. “With the game plan, I just had to break it down a little bit more on each team. Now, I’m learning what I’m supposed to do.”

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Having not only a season under his belt, but also spring practices, Kilgore is playing with even more confidence heading into year number two.

“It’s way easier right now. The difference between nickel and free safety, I’m just in coverage more. I’m not as in the field making tackles as much. I’m still in there when I can be. I’m mainly covering slot receivers.”

Bottom Line:

While I expect Kilgore to see time at safety, in a perfect world, you want to do whatever you can to find ways to have him out there with DQ Smith and Nick Emmanwori at the same time. Especially if they’re all playing at a level we’ve seen all three of them play at before in the past. With that, Kilgore’s value only increases. As a true freshman, he not only proved that he could hold his own at safety but at nickel as well.

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Consistency at nickel plagued South Carolina’s defense throughout parts of last season. But with the emergence of Kilgore at the position, it provided some much needed stability. With the talent the Gamecocks have on defense this season, especially on the defensive line and at linebacker, having a lockdown nickel could be the difference between USC having a good to great defense this year.

Unless either Emmanwori or Smith have a poor fall camp, or there’s someone else stepping up at nickel, to me you make your decisions about who plays safety after you solidify who is starting for you at nickel

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