OD Fortune ready to step into the limelight
To quote the rapper Meek Mill, South Carolina defensive back O’Donnell Fortune used to pray for times like this.
The in-state corner enrolled for the 2020 season but, despite entering his fourth season with the Gamecocks, hasn’t played a ton. That changes this year.
With Cam Smith and Darius Rush off to professional pastures, it’s Fortune’s time to step up and be a starting cornerback in Clayton White’s defense.
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“I prayed day and night for this…I’m ready to take this role and have me and Cell (Dial) on the corners and lockdown. I’m very excited for the season and prepared.”
It’s been a long road for Fortune to get to where he is, logging just 45 snaps–15 in coverage–through his first two seasons.
Last year, he started a pair of games and had a very strong redshirt sophomore season where he finished with a PFF grade of 78.8 and a great coverage grade of 83.4 over 265 total snaps (125 in coverage).
He finished allowing just nine receptions for 90 yards while teams targeted him 15 times. He did allow three touchdowns per PFF but also finished with a pair of interceptions and a pass breakup. Quarterbacks had a 77.1 NFL rating when targeting him.
Those are certainly good numbers, and now it’s about Fortune extrapolating that over the course of an entire season as a full-time starter opposite Marcellas Dial.
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“I’ve seen him mature. We’re going to need him to continue to mature and be focused. If OD does those things, athletically he can run with guys,” cornerbacks coach Torrain Gray said. “He’s long. He can make plays on the ball. It’s just focus play in and play out. If we can get him to do that, man, OD can be a really good player for us.”
Fortune is also coming off arguably the best game of his career in the Gator Bowl. He picked up a pick-six and not allowing a reception on two targets. He also earned an award this spring for the defense’s most improved player.
That can certainly give him confidence going into a pivotal year for him, and South Carolina is hoping he takes the reigns and thrives in his new role.
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“He made those plays in the bowl game that shows his flash. Now, Jaycee Horn is gone. Darius Rush is gone. Cam Smith is gone,” White said. “It’s you and Marcellas Dial. Now it’s time to take that next step and show everyone why you’re here.”
Fortune, listed at 6-foot-1, 177 pounds certainly has the frame to play in the SEC and Fortune thinks that plus his fundamentals can help him succeed as a starter.
“My length, my size, my feet,” he said about what translates. “I’m not a big guy but I have heart and that mindset. Just like how Cam was. I’m trying to add that to the field.”
