Jaylan Foster reflects on Gamecocks career, the foundation he hoped to set for USC
Jaylan Foster didn’t walk off the field for his final football practice with South Carolina football.
Instead, two of his teammates, Brad Johnson and Darius Rush, along with director of football operations George Wynn, carried the Gamecocks’ All-American safety back to the sideline, as captured in a video posted to USC football’s Twitter before the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
The story of how Foster made it to finishing his senior season tied for the nation’s lead with five regular-season interceptions is one head coach Shane Beamer said he reminds the Gamecocks of often.
Beamer said when he had Foster, along with all of the other Gamecocks super seniors, stand in a team meeting as the coaches discussed their impact on USC’s program, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
“It’s a great lesson for our guys,” Beamer said after the Gamecocks’ win over North Carolina. “It doesn’t always just happen as a freshman or sophomore, like you’ve got to work. There’s other great players here with you.”
Rated two stars out of Byrnes High School (Duncan) in 2016 according to the 247Sports Composite, Foster played a single season at FCS Gardner Webb and earned Big South Conference freshman of the year honors before transferring to walk on at South Carolina.
Foster sat out for the 2017 season due to transfer rules, played a small role in three games in 2018 and earned the Gamecocks’ Scout Team Award in 2019 before he was placed on scholarship before the 2020 season, when he’d see his most meaningful action. He worked mainly on special teams in 2020 but started in the last five games of the year, setting the stage for the star role he’d take in 2021.
Foster finished the year as the Gamecocks’ leading tackler with 96 total tackles, including five for loss. He also forced two fumbles in addition to the five interceptions that put him atop the national rankings.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Foster said in the final press conference as a Gamecock. “I didn’t always see this picture at the ending like this. Two years ago, I didn’t know what was gonna happen with my football career. I just kept faith, believing in God and putting in the work. This is amazing.”
Before he played his sixth season at South Carolina, Foster had conversations with defensive backs coach Torrian Gray about the things he needed to do to garner attention from NFL scouts. Those conversations paid off, as he’s projected to go in the sixth round of this year’s NFL draft, according to the NFL Mock Draft Database.
“It leaves me speechless,” Foster said on earning the chance to be drafted. “Just (a) childhood dream, you know, being able to make it come true. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
Foster called his last game with South Carolina “bittersweet,” but he said he felt that he achieved the goals he set for the 2021 football season.
“Leaving the foundation for the program, I think that was my mindset with the ending of my career,” Foster said. “Just making sure when I left here, the place was better.”
Helping Beamer’s first year end with a 7-6 record, the Gamecocks’ first bowl win since 2018 and plenty of hope for the future is the outcome Foster dreamed of when he left USC.
