South Carolina Gamecocks
The Gamecocks’ defensive back dominance truly peaked from 2009-2011 while having two of the top DBs in all of college football at the time in D.J. Swearinger and Stephon Gilmore.
Since then, South Carolina has struggled in pass defense, but still hold a strong argument as to why they should be considered DBU.
When looking at overall success rate in the NFL, there aren’t too many programs that can keep up with the Gamecocks. In 2016, CBS Sports tallied total defensive back career starts in the NFL amongst DBU candidates. Surprisingly, Carolina topped both Florida and LSU.
Now, I’m sure the stats have changed, as we’ve had three full seasons worth of action, but it’s not shocking to see why the Gamecocks claim the prize.
South Carolina is certainly an underdog in this argument, but don’t we all love the dark horse?
Notable Players
KO Simpson– SS (2004-05) 7 interceptions, 103 tackles, two-time All-American,
Emanuel Cook– SS (2006-08) 4 interceptions, 236 tackles, two-time ALL-SEC
Stephon Gilmore– CB (2009-11) 8 interceptions, 181 tackles, two-time ALL-SEC
DJ Swearinger– SS (2009-12) 6 interceptions, 184 tackles, 4-year starter
Overall Stats (since 2010)
First-round Draft picks- 1
Total Draft picks- 5
INT- 134
AVG national pass defense ranking- 52.1
AVG OPP pass yards per game- 216
AVG OPP pass TD per game- 1.3