South Carolina had a few big names on its football roster last year, including Javon Kinlaw, Bryan Edwards, Jaycee Horn, and Israel Mukuamu. But those names weren’t always so recognizable.
Take Kinlaw, for example. After spending a year in JUCO, he joined the Gamecocks’ squad but really didn’t start to shine until midway through his junior year. Relatively unknown outside of the SEC, he burst onto the national scene with an All-American senior season before being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Israel Mukuamu may be the best example from the 2019 team, as he entered the year with little expectation from those outside of the South Carolina program, but was on the tip of every national pundit’s tongue following a three interception performance in the Gamecocks’ upset win of then-No.