Kyle Kennard far exceeded all expectations in his lone season at South Carolina. If there was a ceiling for what transfers could do in one year at a new school, he broke right through it.
The former Georgia Tech transfer made 28 tackles (15.5 for loss) with 11.5 sacks last season in a year where he took home SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. He also became South Carolina’s first-ever Bronko Nagurski Trophy Winner, awarded to the best defensive player in college football.
“He was never once All-ACC, and then he comes here for a year, you know, one year in the SEC, and he was an SEC Defensive Player of the Year,” defensive ends coach Sterling Lucas told GamecockCentral. “It just speaks volumes about our program, our strength and conditioning program. It’s a development in all aspects here at South Carolina.”
With a new season set to begin in a few weeks, South Carolina will be looking for its next Kennard at the EDGE position. Kennard was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the fourth round of this year’s NFL Draft, leaving a big void to be filled.
The Gamecocks won’t be in bad shape, though, as Dylan Stewart, an All-SEC Freshman last season, returns for his sophomore year. Now with fall camp underway, they’ll more so look to see who lines up on the opposite end of Stewart this year.
South Carolina will have plenty of options and could ultimately rotate various players in and out throughout the season. One player who has a chance to make a big impression during camp, though, is Bryan Thomas Jr., who played the next most snaps behind Kennard and Stewart last year.
“I feel like I’ve had to wait my turn. But that comes with life. The best things you’ve got to wait for,” Thomas said. “The wait hasn’t really been too much or too less, you know, it’s been just perfect. So I feel like this year is my time.”
Going into his senior season, Thomas has been a productive player for the Gamecocks with 20-plus tackles in each of the last two years. He also recorded a career-high 4.5 sacks in 2024.
“He’s bigger, stronger, faster, and he just plays really fast, man. He’s a playmaker,” Lucas said. “I mean, he was the third guy last year, but he was very productive in doing that. So I’m really excited about him.”
As Thomas himself mentioned, he’s had to wait his turn to earn consistent starting time. He only started one game last year and six the year before that. But with Kennard gone, there’s an opportunity to change that and become an every-week starter.
“It’s been a journey,” said Thomas, who’s spent his entire career with the Gamecocks. “I’m a loyal guy. I like South Carolina. It’s like family. This team is like family. So it’s been a pleasure here.”
Even with how good Kennard was last season, Lucas doesn’t believe there’s any pressure on Thomas to replicate his numbers. Instead, it’s about improving and increasing his value on the field.
“His big thing is he’s a really good pass rusher, you know, just continue to finish at the top of the rush, which he does,” Lucas said. “… He had a great strip sack versus Oklahoma, and that’s a teach tape rep, right? So just doing that consistently, and then all the hard work that he’s put in, that he’s done, just continue trusting the process and the standard, and the stats are gonna come. So that’s my message.”
And for Thomas, he wants to be on the field for all four quarters in every game this season. He managed to lower his body fat from 15 to 12 percent, which he hopes will help him achieve that goal.
“Our standard is to play fast, play physical,” Thomas said. “With Kyle gone, that was a big piece of our room. But he also taught us a lot when he was here. But I don’t think that’s gonna change anything. Like I said, we all have the same mindset.”
