Former Putnam County football player Jalon Kilgore returns to his home state this Saturday as the South Carolina Gamecocks travel to Athens to face the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs.
Kilgore has made an instant impact on the Gamecocks’ defense. He’s adjusted to the college level well and is tied with teammate Debo Williams for the lead in tackles with 18 each.
The 6-foot-1, 214-pound former War Eagle and current Gamecocks’ defensive back had a team-high 12 tackles in South Carolina’s season opener Sept. 3 against North Carolina.
Kilgore has impressed head coach Shane Beamer, who heavily recruited him out of high school.
“Jalon has come in and proven that he is a stud,” Beamer said. “Go back and look at the last two games and just the amount of plays he has made at the point of attack. Whether it’s the passing game or tackling one-on-one in the open field, I know we have only played two games, but he is very much like Nick and DQ were for us last year coming in as a true freshman.”
Kilgore got the opportunity to get a lot of snaps after Nick Emmanwori went down early with an injury. His father, James Kilgore, was at that game in Charlotte against the Tarheels, and later admitted he didn’t even realize his youngest son was on the field at first – it was that unexpected.
“The expectations were not there like that. We knew he was a great player, but we didn’t know the opportunity would happen like that,” Kilgore said. “You hate to see a guy go down like that. When we were at that game, we didn’t even realize Jalon was in the game until they announced his name for his first tackle. It was mind-blowing to see him get 12 tackles.”
The former four-star recruit has made an immediate impact after stepping in for the injured Emmanwori, and he’s made the most of it.
Even as a true freshman, Kilgore has a very down-to-earth mindset. His father acknowledged that after the game against the Tar Heels, he came off the field knowing he could play even better.
“He came to me after the game and said, ‘Dad, I made some mistakes,’ but I had to remind him that he got this opportunity as a true freshman,” Kilgore said. “He said when they put him into the game, it didn’t even feel real and that it was like a dream. Before the game, they told him he’d only be out there, here and there, but we never expected it would be at that capacity.”
Now, the Georgia native gets to return home for the first time since leaving for Columbia. The Gamecocks play the Georgia Bulldogs this Saturday at 3:30 p.m., and Kilgore will take the field at Sanford Stadium.
The Kilgore family is familiar with the area and even came to games during Jalon’s childhood. His father reminisced about those times and how special it is now that it’s come full circle.
“We’re all over the top and proud of Jalon and what he’s doing right now. I can’t wait for the chance to see him play between the hedges,” Kilgore said. “I can remember when we used to do concession stand work in Athens at the stadium with our non-profit organization, Reach and Teach, to raise money for a church scholarship. We used to hope that one day one of our boys would be able to play out here, and God has given him the chance to do so.”
With plenty of games left in the season, Kilgore hopes to be able to compete well enough against the Bulldogs to solidify himself as an important part of the Gamecocks’ defense.