Trash talk? Why this Gamecock makes sure his teammates aren’t doing it

South Carolina football defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw can be a joy in an interview setting.

He’s got the kind of easygoing goofiness that could involve getting compared to the tiniest breed of dog or talking about the candy he dug into when he left the field after a win. But that easy chatter doesn’t translate when he’s on the field.

“I’m not a talker,” Kinlaw said. “I ain’t never really been a talker. I just do what I’ve got to do and get out the way.”

He and his teammate will go up against Kentucky and running back Benny Snell, a player who has a reputation for some jawing. Snell backs it up, as he’s currently the No. 3 rusher in the country, with three games of 125 yards or more.

Although Kinlaw isn’t talking, he’s using his few words to send a message to the rest of his defensive teammates.

“With my guys, I don’t mean it like that, but kind of what I say kind of goes with that talking stuff,” Kinlaw said. “I don’t like my guys talking back or nothing like that. Whenever I hear somebody out there talking, I kind of tell them we don’t do that talking.

“We just do what we’ve got to do. Leave that talking for after the game.”

That’s what he did last weekend, when he tormented Vanderbilt’s offense with a pair of strip sacks and another tackle for loss. Then after the game, there was some talk about candy.

It’s an approach his teammates and coaches respect.

“He’s just a guy that’s going to do what he has to do. He doesn’t get wrapped up in it,” quarterback Jake Bentley said. “He knows what his job is and his job is to help our team. If he gets a flag for taunting or unsportsmanlike conduct, that hurts our team. And so he understands that and he wants to do his job.”

This week’s game will likely come with a little tension to it.

The Wildcats have won four games in a row in the series, though players said they won’t take that personally. UK is also ranked for the first time in more than a decade, and should provide a good atmosphere for a night game.

In that kind of cauldron, emotions can run hot, and one mistake could compound another. So Kinlaw wants to keep his guys and himself in line.

“It’s a really good thing,” Gamecocks football coach Will Muschamp said. “In order to have the right kind of mindset, to me, part of that’s being composed. And sometimes when you lose your composure, you don’t always make the best decisions. So I think composure is a really good talent to have.”

This story was originally published September 27, 2018 at 11:40 AM.