South Carolina shifts D-line veteran to new spot to replace NFL Draft pick
South Carolina’s football team had a bit of a logjam on the defensive line.
Its two most proven outside rushers, Aaron Sterling and Kingsley “J.J.” Enagbare, played the same defensive end spot. On the other side, the versatile Buck position where NFL Draft pick D.J. Wonnum starred the past three years, the primary options were veteran Brad Johnson, who missed most of last year, and a five-star freshman in Jordan Burch.
But now, after a move, there’s no more imbalance.
“J.J. Enagbare will play some end, play some Buck,” Gamecocks defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson said Thursday. “We’ll be able to stand him up and do some different things like that. He will be the guy to replace Dennis Wonnum, for lack of a better word. And then you look at Brad Johnson, who is playing at Buck in sub packages.”
With the change, Enagbare has been asked to help at just about every position along the line. A four-star end out of the Atlanta area, he came into college around 265 pounds, maybe a little narrow in the shoulders but still a strong option for the team’s bigger end spot.
Only he was called upon to work as a backup tackle in 2018 as a true freshman. He spent one year there, showing flashes, then put up 27 tackles, seven for loss, and 3 1/2 sacks as a true defensive end last season.
Buck is a different challenge because of what the role asks. Players there are often hell-for-leather pass rushers, either with a hand down or standing up, but they also have to do a few linebacker-like things, getting into coverage in short zones.
Robinson explained that while Enagbare might be replacing Wonnum in a manner of speaking, it’s a flexible thing. The Gamecocks deploy several different kinds of fronts, which will get him work at either end spot.
“J.J. has always been a very athletic guy,” Robinson said. “He can move his hands and his feet at the same time. He’s got great pass rush ability. He’s athletic enough to do what we’re asking him to do at the Buck position.
“We’ll play some three-down where he’ll stand up some, and then we’ll play some four-down where he’ll play his normal position, which is end. So it’s not too much to ask him to do those things. But he’s more than athletic enough.”
