He enrolled early, Will Muschamp says he's going to play 'probably a lot' in 2018

South Carolina defensive lineman Kingsley J.J. Enagbare has already seen his position change in his brief South Carolina career, as he was considered a big defensive end recruit out of high school and has been moved to the interior as a tackle at 6-foot-4, 257 pounds.

But don’t think that’s going to prevent him from seeing the field early.

“He’s going to play football for us next year, probably a lot,” Gamecocks head coach Will Muschamp said. “He’s very loose, hard to block. He’s got very good athleticism. He runs extremely well. He’s extremely bright. He learns very well. You coach him something, he gets it, he understands it, he’s able to do it the next play. So I’ve been extremely pleased with him.”

The coach pointed out in the team’s more multiple system, there isn’t that much of a gap between what a bigger end and tackle do. He also said there’s a good learning experience in taking on double teams from SEC veterans out of the gate, a far cry from what these players were used to in high school.

Enagbare was a small-school star at Hapeville Charter Academy in Atlanta. He won Georgia’s Class AA Defensive Player of the Year award and had more than 80 tackles and 16 sacks as a high school senior.

He’s one of several USC defensive linemen to start at tackle after being listed as end recruits, a group that includes Keir Thomas and Tyreek Johnson, who Muschamp has also singled out for praise this spring.

The Gamecocks are set to get reinforcements inside with four-star Rick Sandidge and junior college transfer Jabari Ellis set to join the group this summer. But that didn’t seem to dampen Muschamp’s enthusiasm for what Enagbare can bring.

“I can tell you right now,” Muschamp said. “He’s a really good football player and he’s going to play for a long time. He’s going to be a really good player for us next year.”

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 10:56 AM with the headline "He enrolled early, Will Muschamp says he's going to play 'probably a lot' in 2018."