How Enagbare beat Sandidge out on USC depth chart, and the plan for both Saturday

South Carolina’s football team brought in a pair of four-star defensive linemen in Kingsley “J.J.” Enagbare and Rick Sandidge.

Enagbare had to transition from defensive end. Sandidge was ranked much higher as a recruit.

So what helped Enagbare earn his spot in the two-deep released Tuesday ahead of Sandidge?

“As much as anything, JJ was here in the spring,” Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said. “So when he started fall camp, he wasn’t hearing (technical terms such as) ‘over front’ for the first time.”

Enagbare came into college as a big defensive end listed short of 260 pounds. According to the official roster, he’s now up in the mid-280s.

He drew strong reviews all spring, while Sandidge finished out high school after committing on national signing day.

Now at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, Sandidge has had to catch up after coming in as a top-150 recruit. He posted 83 tackles and seven sacks as a senior and early in his career had played on the edge before translating that quickness inside.

The pair will work in with starters Javon Kinlaw and Keir Thomas, plus Kobe Smith, last year’s No. 4 tackle who quietly came along last offseason.

Despite Enagbare’s presence on the depth chart, Muschamp has a more equitable game plan against Coastal Carolina.

“I see J.J. and Ricky playing about the same snaps on Saturday,” Muschamp said. “I don’t see any difference there.”

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 2:34 PM.