Jalon Kilgore talks 'brotherhood' of Gamecock football
Even in the transfer portal/NIL era of college football, Shane Beamer and his Gamecock football staff have managed to do extraordinarily well in roster retention.
One key piece on defense who will return for the 2025 season is Jalon Kilgore.
The rising junior safety recently appeared on the Gamecock Club Hour on 107.5 The Game and gave his thoughts on why so many key players have chosen to remain in Columbia.
[Join GamecockCentral: $1 for 7 days]
“It’s the brotherhood,” Kilgore explained. “The locker room a lot of us built so much, like, bonds with each other. It would feel weird to leave. You wouldn’t want to go somewhere else, even if they did offer you more money.”
It’s no secret that, with the relaxation of rules surrounding NIL and the portal – and the ignorance of the rules that are in place across the country – that players have plenty of options in the offseason.
Many star players on the Gamecock football roster could choose to go elsewhere for financial reasons, but the culture that’s been put in place by Shane Beamer has them choosing to remain in place.
Top 10
- 1New
CFP ratings
OSU vs. ND sees numbers drop
- 2
Urban Meyer
Calling out 'idiots on social media'
- 3Trending
Reggie Bush
Legend fighting for natty return
- 4
SEC, Big Ten ADs set meeting
More change coming?
- 5
Kirk Herbstreit
Reveals wife's cancer diagnosis
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“Nobody’s leaving because they know what we have here and what we can build here,” Kilgore said. “Nothing like starting something from the bottom and building it up. So, it’s just a bond between each other.”
Beamer has gone on the record multiple times in the past to address Gamecock football’s retention strategy.
Aside from articulating each player’s role and making sure the locker room is in a good place, there’s a major key to retention in Beamer’s mind when it comes specifically to NIL.
“Being honest with them,” Beamer said. “There’s a lot of people that over promise and under deliver. We’re not going to over promise around here, if anything, we’re going to under promise and over deliver as well, and I believe we have from that standpoint.”
