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South Carolina

Kyle Kennard on Sterling Lucas: ‘He modernized the game for me’

wesby: Wes Mitchell02/27/25WesMitchellGC
kyle kennard south carolina gamecocks
South Carolina EDGE Kyle Kennard (DL55) during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

South Carolina assistant coach Sterling Lucas watched Kyle Kennard‘s film from his final year at Georgia Tech and saw the potential for more.

Kennard was fresh off a solid season where he led the Yellow Jackets in sacks with six and tackles-for-loss with 11 but Lucas couldn’t help but point out that small changes could have resulted in a much bigger year.

“I sat down and watched film with my new position coach Sterling Lucas. He told me I could have had about 10 (sacks),” Kennard said in a sitdown this week with Nicole Auerbach at the NFL Combine. “So we sat there and watched a lot of things that I could have done better. Things at the top of the rush, like ripping, bending, turning my toe—things like that. I kind of emphasized those things more this year.”

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Kennard did his new coach one better, not only accumulating double-digit sacks but 11.5 for good measure.

With 28 tackles and 15.5 tackles-for-loss and one of the highest PFF pass-rush grades in the SEC, Kennard became an All-American and the first Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner in school history during his lone year in the Garnet and Black.

“It definitely had a lot to do with coaching,” Kennard said. “I feel like it’s a testament to my coach, Sterling Lucas, who I had at South Carolina. He kind of modernized the game for me in a way. A lot of coaches are set in their ways of doing things. I had great coaches at my last institution, don’t get me wrong, but he kind of helped me and let me be me more.”

Kennard, who is currently projected on NFL.com as a Day 2 pick in this year’s draft, will look to continue to improve his stock this week at the combine.

Thursday will be a huge day for Kennard and several of his Gamecock teammates as it features the on-field portion of the combine for defensive linemen and linebackers, while the bench press will take place Friday.

That comes after Kennard met with teams and the media on Wednesday. What’s he telling teams?

“I’m telling them that I’m a complete defensive end,” Kennard said. “I can rush the passer as well as make plays in the backfield in the running game and that I’m the total package.”

Back home, South Carolina’s current coaches and players will be pulling for Kennard who ingrained himself in the program in his lone season.

And this fall, he’ll do the same for them.

“We just knew that we could do something real special,” Kennard said. “We tried to do that. We had some bumps and bruises early on, and we kind of got those fixed more throughout the season.

“But really, I talk about this all the time—next season, the sky’s the limit for those guys. I mean, they’ve got one of the best defensive players returning. LaNorris Sellers on offense is returning back. They’re adding key pieces everywhere, and I just think they’re gonna be unstoppable this season.”

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