Versatile Enagbare is Ready to Make Some Noise from the Edge
The Gamecocks lost more than half of their starters on defense from last year, but they are strong up front led by senior edge rusher Kingsley “J.J.” Enagbare. Enagbare had an opportunity to pursue a professional career after last season, but he opted to come back.
“There were some things I thought I could get better at and work on in the offseason,” Enagbare said. “I wanted to come back and win. I wanted to do something that Gamecock Nation could feel proud about.”
With 10.5 sacks in his career to go along with 17 tackles for a loss, he is projected by ProFootballNetwork.com as a potential first round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, but Enagbare isn’t thinking that far ahead.
“Talk about the NFL isn’t a distraction. I just have to keep my priorities straight. I want to win as many games as possible and why not break some records? I want to get as many sacks as I can.”
That doesn’t mean the NFL isn’t on his mind. Enagbare changed his jersey number from 52 to 1 this season, and he hopes to follow in the footsteps of a pair of former Gamecocks who recently wore that number and are now playing on Sundays.
“I’ve seen what (defensive back) Jaycee (Horn) did and what (wide receiver) Deebo (Samuel) did with the number, and they set a pretty high standard, so I want to match that,” Enagbare said.
“There are a lot of people who sacrificed for me.”
Enagbare played in 12 games in each of his first two seasons, and earned first team All-SEC honors last year after leading the Gamecocks with six sacks in only eight games, which also ranked second in the SEC. He also forced three fumbles last season. Not just a pass-rusher, Enagbare is tough against the run and takes pride in excelling at both. The combination outside linebacker/defensive end is listed as an “edge” on the position depth chart, but whatever you want to call him, he’s a disrupter.
“I feel like I’m pretty versatile,” Enagbare said. “My freshman year, I played defensive tackle. My sophomore year, I played more like a traditional end. The last two years, I’ve been playing like both a defensive end and outside linebacker. I feel like I can do it all. I like to cause disruption. I like to get sacks and to get run stops.”
After missing the last two games of the season last year, Enagbare returned in the spring and was named the Rex Enright Defensive Player of the Spring by his coaches. Healthy and confident, Enagbare knows he can still get better.
“It’s in all areas,” Enagbare said. “In pass rushing, I can work with my hands better and be more in control, in a sense. For the run game, I can be more controlled in my approach, take better angles, and be more aggressive.”
When he’s not plastering ball carriers and quarterbacks, Enagbare enjoys another artform off the field.
“I like to paint shoes. I like to customize them. I’ve painted about a dozen or so. I’ve done a few for a couple of teammates.”
Enagbare knows that his success isn’t just about him, and he is inspired by those who helped him get here.
“There are a lot of people who sacrificed for me,” Enagbare said. “They gave up a lot of things so I could be here today. There are a lot of people who’d like to be in the position I’m in. I’m thankful to my brother, my mom, my sister, and my godparents. They supported me. The lessons I learned from them definitely inspired me to stay on the right path for success.”
It’s also worth noting that Enagbare’s nickname, “J.J.,” doesn’t really have anything to do with his name, although his family is responsible for it.
“It was a childhood nickname that my mother gave me,” Enagbare said proudly with a grin. “There was a little show that I used to watch, JJ the Jet Plane, and I would act like him all the time.”
Enagbare hopes to be flying into the opponent’s backfield beginning on September 4 when the Gamecocks host Eastern Illinois.
