Gerald Kilgore more confident than ever after 'great' fall camp, big-time play in scrimmage

Sometimes, all it takes is one play or moment to change the narrative, to make a big leap forward in development.

In last Saturday’s team scrimmage, Gerald Kilgore made one of the bigger plays of the day, one that capped off a strong fall camp for him. Covering freshman receiver Brian Rowe Jr., Kilgore turned around at the perfect time as he leaped back and picked off Air Noland‘s pass in mid-air.

As he fell to the turf with the ball secured in his hands, his teammates poured out from the sideline to celebrate his interception. His younger brother, Jalon Kilgore, noticeably had a shocked yet excited reaction on his face in a video of the play on social media that has garnered more than 64,000 views.

“I’ve had a great fall camp, and that was a great way for me to end it off,” Kilgore said. “… I just had to continue to keep putting on tape, and I feel like I did that this camp. So that was just a great way to end it off. I thank God for being able to make that play.”

Entering his second season at South Carolina, Kilgore feels more motivated than ever to have a great year. And a moment like that only further ignites him to do so.

“I already know what I have, the type of player I am, the type of skills that I have, what I can put on tape,” he said. “So, I mean, I’m just prepared to be ready to make those plays in the stadium and any away game we go to. So just continue to be prepared. But it definitely boosts it. It just boosts it up, definitely higher.”

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Kilgore played in all 13 games during his first year with the Gamecocks after transferring in from Tennessee Tech. While he primarily played on special teams, he recorded seven tackles, notching one against seven different opponents throughout the season.

Since the start of fall camp, Kilgore has been in an important battle with some of the other defensive backs vying for a starting role in 2025. With Nick Emmanwori now in the NFL, the Gamecocks are looking for their next starter in the secondary alongside DQ Smith, and Kilgore seems to be right in the mix.

“I think (the players) are doing a really good job of just really competing and helping each other and not really making a personal battle,” defensive coordinator Clayton White said. “They understand the best guy goes out there to give us the best chance to win, but I do think they’ve all earned time to showcase their skills.”

What makes Kilgore feel ready to take on a bigger role this season? For one, he feels that he better understands the defensive playbook and is more comfortable within the system.

“I put myself in a position throughout this spring, summer, and especially this fall, to be able to not only obtain information, but be able to put out information to younger guys,” Kilgore said. “And I love to do that, because freshmen coming in, I mean, we didn’t have any transfer safeties coming in this year, but just in all aspects of the room, I’m able to answer questions.”

White has also noticed the differences in Kilgore from last year to now. One way he can immediately tell is how he asks questions. And that’s something that’s improved a lot.

“I always have a lot of respect for football players who put in the work, and you can see the improvement right in front of your eyes,” White said. “… I can always tell when a player comes to me to ask me a question, I can tell where they are in our system based on the level of the question. So his questions are starting to get more 300-level questions, not 100-level questions anymore.”

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