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Gilmore stays grounded despite accolades
Stephon Gilmore
Gerry Melendez/gmelendez@thestate.com
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Stephon Gilmore might look a bit flashy. His shoulder-length dreads pop out of his football helmet and he has tattoos on each arm.
But this is no hot-dogging cornerback. This true freshman is a soft-spoken type who already has elicited praise from veteran teammates, and the grandest words from his hard-to-please coach.
This is Stephon Gilmore, the new starting cornerback for the South Carolina football team. This is the kid whom coach Steve Spurrier said in the spring has a chance to be one of the best players at USC.
"And I can say that because I know it won't affect him," Spurrier said.
Months after those comments, Gilmore still seems a bit surprised.
"I mean it's a good thing to hear from coach Spurrier, I guess, the traditional coach that he is," Gilmore said. "But I haven't done anything yet. So I'm just working hard as a player right now, trying to live up to it."
His resume makes a case for Gilmore being able to live up to the hype.
He was a Parade All-American. He was Mr. Football for the state of South Carolina. As a quarterback and defensive back, he led South Pointe High School to a state championship, along with fellow USC freshman DeVonte Holloman.
After graduating early, he and Holloman enrolled at USC in the spring. By the end of spring practice, Gilmore had earned a starting cornerback spot, and his coach gushed about him at Gamecock Club meetings.
"I'll be honest, I just got out of high school," Gilmore said. "But I guess age doesn't mean anything. Football is football, it isn't going to change."
Spurrier is far from the only one singing Gilmore's praises.
Sophomore cornerback Akeem Auguste said he was skeptical after hearing the hype about Gilmore. Then he saw him in a one-on-one drill.
"I was like, 'Yeah, he can play,' " Auguste said. "And then he messed around and slid into a starting spot."
Junior safety Chris Culliver marveled that Gilmore usually is one of the first players in the film room.
"Stephon's a really good kid," Culliver said. "He goes hard. He understands. He was the best defensive back we had coming in here, so I kind of expected that from him."
Senior Darian Stewart also expects big things from Gilmore.
"It's his personality. You won't see him in trouble. And on the field, he's just a smart player," Stewart said. "That's one person I can say, he can get all the hype, but at the end of the day he's always going to be humble."
And he also has his eye on the ball — and not on being the guy to throw it.
Spurrier wants to use Gilmore as the quarterback in the Cocky package of plays. While plenty of youngsters might love to get a chance at the glamorous position, especially one at which they flourished in high school, Gilmore acts as if his mind, if not his heart, is on defense.
"I feel as though I want to focus on cornerback, and develop as a player there," Gilmore said. "And then if they want me to go over there and do the Wildcat, I'd be willing to do that."
Plenty of big-time in-state recruits have become Gamecocks. But many have failed to reach expectations.
Many feel Gilmore will reverse the trend — not that he feels any of that pressure.
"Yeah, I'm not gonna listen to people blow it up to make it more than what it is," Gilmore said. "I'm just going to try to keep playing football the way I have been playing."
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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