The Bruise Brothers - Gerald and Jalon Kilgore
South Carolina’s Gerald and Jalon Kilgore were always competitive with each other growing up. Now, the two brothers are paired up in the defensive backfield with a common goal of creating a no-fly zone for Gamecock opponents.
“I’m definitely physical,” said Gerald, a redshirt sophomore safety who transferred from Tennessee Tech and is the older of the two by about a year and a half. “With this game, you have to be physical. With this conference, it’s a totally different mentality that you have to bring. Once you get a couple of hits or a couple of deflections, it sets the tone. They know what’s going on.”
“I feel like I was a physical player last year,” said Jalon, a sophomore nickelback who earned SEC All-Freshman team and Freshman All-America honors last year. “I tried to establish that and show I wasn’t afraid to come down and play with the big guys. This year, I’m learning more of the finesse side to cover guys better than I did last year. I feel like I did a good job last year, but I want to increase the overall level of my game. This year, I have to be more of a leader.”
The Kilgores grew up in Eatonton, Georgia, under the guidance of their father James, who is a pastor, and mother, Tammy. Like most brothers, they’ve always competed with each other and are thankful to view their parents as role models.
“It was a very competitive household,” said Jalon, who is studying public health with a minor in journalism and played the saxophone growing up. “I hated losing. He hated losing. We were always going at it. Our parents thought we were always fighting, but it wasn’t that. We were just competing so hard. My family has made a big impact on my life with my brothers and my parents. Being the youngest, I had a lot of people to look up to. My dad had a lot of standards of what to do and what not to do. He told us that whenever you’re in a situation you think you can’t get out of, you can pray. God can get you out of that situation.”
“We’re still competitive now,” said Gerald who is studying services management and played the drums at his father’s church. “It’s funnier now because we’re all grown up, but we still do that. We’ll be working out and trying to see who can lift more or who can beat the other one in the drills that we do. It’s fun. When we were younger, we were competitive over anything. Definitely with video games!
“My dad has been a good role model for us. There are things that he has driven into us since day one that we still keep close to us since we’re out here on our own.”
“Having someone that knew how you grew up beside you is great. He taught me things growing up, now I get to teach him some things since he came here.”
Sibling rivalry aside, they both have an appreciation of the other’s talents.
“We both have a good knowledge of the game,” Gerald said. “I know he had to pick up things really fast last year as a freshman. He put himself in a position to play, and that comes from his mentality in knowing how to pick things up quickly, knowing what play we’re running, knowing how to make checks, and things like that.”
“I feel like my strength is my IQ on the field and my instincts,” said Jalon. “He picks up things very fast as well. He picked up the playbook much faster than I did when I first got here.”
Gerald played quarterback in high school, but switched to defense at Tennessee Tech and hasn’t looked back. Both are excited to play alongside their brother.
“Having someone that knew how you grew up beside you is great,” Jalon said. “He taught me things growing up, now I get to teach him some things since he came here.”
“I had some other offers, and I just prayed that God would put me in the right place, and South Carolina seemed like the right place,” Gerald said. “Opportunities like this don’t always come up – the chance to play with your brother who you’ve grown up with your whole life.”
