All-American: Javon Kinlaw picks up national honor from USA Today
The awards keep pouring in for South Carolina football senior Javon Kinlaw, and they’re getting bigger and bigger, as he was named a second-team All-American by USA Today on Thursday.
It’s Kinlaw’s second All-American nod in as many days — The Athletic named him a second-team All-American on Wednesday.
A defensive tackle out of Charleston, Kinlaw exploded up NFL draft boards with a standout senior year. A midseason AP All-American, he recorded 35 tackles with six sacks, a top-10 mark in the SEC, and two fumble recoveries, a team best, while generating consistent pressure in the middle of the line.
Earlier this week, Kinlaw was named a second-team All-SEC player by the media and first-team All-SEC by the league’s coaches.
Kinlaw is also the second player in as many years from the Gamecocks to earn All-American plaudits — last season, Deebo Samuel got nods from the Football Writers Association of America and the American Football Coaches Association as a kick returner and all-purpose back, respectively.
All told, the Gamecocks have had four consensus All-Americans in program history — Jadeveon Clowney, Melvin Ingram, George Rodgers and Del Wilkes. In order to be designated a consensus All-American, a player must be named by at least three of five organizations: the Associated Press, Sporting News, FWAA, AFCA and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 10:43 AM.
