South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back Jalon Kilgore is in store for a sophomore surge season.

The South Carolina Gamecocks have their fair share of questions on the roster, as do a lot of programs during the preseason leading into a brand new year. However, when taking a look around at the Gamecocks’ secondary, they have some playmakers lurking around, and one of them is in store for a sophomore surge in year two.

Jalon Kilgore stepped in a major role for South Carolina in year one as a freshman. He was named a member of the first-team All-American after playing in all 12 games and starting in 11 of them. He finished the season with 76 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one interception. He rotated at both safety and nickel while also serving as the team’s leading punt returner. A true jack-of-all-trades player for the Gamecocks and year two could is shaping up to be a special one for him.

The Gamecocks will need a big year of Kilgore. Last season they finished 101st in passing defense, but they also return quite a few key contributors. Nick Emmanwori is a junior safety that is returning and is one of the top defenders in the conference. If Kilgore and Emmanwori play above the high standard they have set in previous seasons, then the Gamecocks could be in great shape to have a much improved passing defense during the 2024 season.

No matter what program it is, stepping onto the field as a true freshman and keeping yourself in the rotation is a hard thing to do. No matter how many stars you have coming out of high school or what your ranking was, playing as a true freshman is not very common. Kilgore defied those odds though, and now will be a player the Gamecocks lean on in year two.

You Might Also Like:

Join the community:

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking “Follow” on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to follow us on X at @GamecocksDigest and on Facebook!

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – Test scores show South Carolina students are significantly behind where the state wants them to be in reading, writing and math.

Educators say some of these scores paint a troubling picture, while others show efforts to target pandemic learning loss are working.

On Friday, the South Carolina Department of Education released results from last year’s SC READY assessment.

That’s the annual test public-school students in third through eighth grade take – in math and English language arts.

“While there’s a lot to celebrate here, there’s also, I think, an urgent call for continued action,” said Patrick Kelly of the Palmetto State Teachers Association.

Scores show reading and writing is a brighter spot, with 53% of students performing at or above their grade level – the same as last year, and up from pre-pandemic scores.

That’s not the situation for math – for which only 42% of students across the state met their grade-level expectations – slightly up from last year, but still below where students were before COVID.

And the statewide averages in both areas fell far short of the South Carolina Department of Education’s goal of 75% of students testing at least at their grade level.

“I think that we’re seeing it’s attainable,” Kelly said. “It’s just going to take a lot of work, and we need to look at the places where we’re seeing positive momentum, and we need to replicate what they’re doing statewide.”

State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver says officials are encouraged by the growth in reading and writing scores and committed to tackling shortcomings in math.

“Our laser focus remains on providing a strong academic foundation in the fundamentals to ensure that every South Carolina student has the opportunity to meet their full potential,” she said.

The Department of Education has promised “urgent and targeted intervention” through a new program called the Palmetto Math Project.

It says that will focus, in part, on providing intensive support to the lowest-performing schools, for both students and teachers.

It’s funded in the current state budget.

“Let’s put our money into the most valuable resource for students, which is dedicated time in an individualized learning environment with teachers,” Kelly said. “If we do that, we’ll get the gain. If we don’t, then I don’t think we’re going to get the return on investment we expect with this money.”

The Palmetto State Teachers Association says the statewide educator shortage plays a big role in these scores falling short of where state leaders want them – especially in high-need areas like math.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.