USC lands commitment from transfer DB Gerald Kilgore, brother of current Gamecock
South Carolina has added another Kilgore to its roster.
On Sunday afternoon, Tennessee Tech transfer Gerald Kilgore — the brother of South Carolina freshman safety Jalon Kilgore — confirmed to The State that he committed to South Carolina.
“It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Kilgore said of playing with his brother. “Stuff like this doesn’t happen very often. It was always talked about. ... When I was committed to Tennessee Tech, Jalon received a Tennessee Tech offer as well. He had a bunch of big offers but it was just that what-if.”
There’s no more need for a what-if. Years after Jalon used to play a year up in youth football so he could be on the same team as his brother, the Kilgores will get to wear the same uniform in college.
Kilgore, a 6-foot, 202-pound defensive back, will enroll at South Carolina with three years of eligibility remaining after redshirting and playing just one year at FCS Tennessee Tech. A converted quarterback, he had 37 tackles with 2.5 TFLs in his first season playing in the secondary.
Because they were around Jalon every day, Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer and DBs coach Torrian Gray knew that Kilgore had moved to defensive back. They knew he was getting better and developing into a solid secondary player.
When Kilgore hopped in the portal, South Carolina was one of the first schools to offer him. Still, Kilgore took his time, visiting USC, West Virginia and Florida Atlantic before making his decision.
“A lot of people will probably say that FAU and West Virginia probably had a tougher chance considering that playing with my brother was in the conversation,” Kilgore said. “But I was truly just trying to find the best situation. And sometimes the best situation is not where other people say is best for you.”
Kilgore’s decison included myriad factors. Even he’ll admit that he would had an easier path to playing at FAU or West Virginia or wherever.
But, he admitted, part of South Carolina’s appeal was the challenge.
“(It’ll) just push me even more to not stop the grind,” he said. “I know there are guys there — Jalon, Nick (Emmanwori), DQ (Smith) — those guys are big-time guys. ... I have confidence in my game and know that coach Gray and coach Beamer have confidence in my game, as well.”
Kilgore’s announcement continues what has been a torrid stretch for South Carolina in the transfer portal. He was the Gamecocks ninth portal addition (first in the secondary), bumping South Carolina up to No. 6 in 247 Sports transfer portal rankings.
SOUTH CAROLINA TRANSFER PORTAL ADDITIONS
- RB Raheim “Rocket Sanders (Arkansas)
- RB Oscar Adaway III (North Texas)
- RB Jawarn Howell (S.C. State)
- WR Jayden McGowen (Vanderbilt)
- WR Jared Brown (Coastal Carolina)
- TE Brady Hunt (Ball State)
- DL Deandre Jules (Pitt)
- DB Gerald Kilgore (Tennessee Tech)
This story was originally published December 17, 2023 at 3:01 PM.
