He played with two NFL all-pros. He thinks one Gamecock can play the role they did

South Carolina defensive ends coach Mike Peterson went back to his playing days.

He was fielding a question about defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, not a player he directly coaches, but one whose gravity could open things for them. He looked back to his time with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the mid-2000s.

“You ever heard of a guy called Marcus Stroud and John Henderson?” he said.

That would be 6-foot-6, 310-pound three-time Pro Bowler Marcus Stroud and 6-foot-7, 335-pound multiple-time college All-American John Henderson, the tackle duo for those Jaguars teams.

“Well I played behind those guys,” Peterson said. “When you’ve got those big guys on the inside, it’s good living for the linebackers as well as for the outside guys because they’re constantly getting that push inside and it kind of frees up the linebackers.”

Kinlaw isn’t quite that big, but at 6-foot-6, 305, he brings easily the most size of any South Carolina interior lineman. Plus he adds an element as a disruptor in the pass rush.

Last season, Kinlaw had 20 tackles, 2 for loss, broke up three passes, forced one fumble and blocked a kick. And that was all while dropping 40 pounds from arriving on campus until the middle of the season.

He’s expected to be an anchor for USC’s defense and a play-maker, a centerpiece before he perhaps makes a run at the NFL. But the Goose Creek product could also help the linebackers behind him such as T.J. Brunson, or the pass rushers beside him.

“That’s always a plus, some big guys inside,” Peterson said.