The South Carolina football team had its best pass in 1921.
The South Carolina defense has struggled with defeats at all levels, with several ex-starters deciding to transfer or declare themselves in the NFL Draft after Will Muschamp’s resignation. In total, the Gamecocks have lost six members of the secondary, their main tackler of the past two seasons, and three defensive attackers.
On Monday, the team finally got some good news when they learned that sack getter leader JJ Enagbare will return for his senior year.
Enagbare is leaving its best season as Gamecock, registering a score of six sacks in nine action games. That mark was good enough for a fifth place in the SEC in 2020. He also came in second in the league with three forced fumbles.
Over his three-year career, the Georgia native has accumulated 77 tackles, 17 of which are behind the scrimmage line, and 10.5 sacks. He immediately enters the defensive line room as the team’s best pass pitcher and is likely to get an early defensive line role for the 2021 season.
This was a change that the Gamecocks desperately needed after losing Keir Thomas, who was in his fifth year, who has now moved to the state of Florida. Enagbare will be one of the few veterans in a group that boasts a ton of young but unproven talent.
His comeback should allow Tonka Hemingway and Jordan Burch, in their second year, to continue to progress without being launched in a starting position. It should also help to remove some pressure from a decimated secondary, as South Carolina will need to antagonize opponents’ defenders to cover holes in the defensive backfield.
This is the best possible news for Gamecocks, and it comes just a day after the team announced their new hiring of defensive coordinator. Enagbare will seek to improve its draft stock in its final year and help its team play “championship-level football” in 2021.