Keenan Nelson Jr. looking to make his mark at nickel back position
Keenan Nelson Jr. has only been a member of the South Carolina football program for one season. But whenever he has been given an opportunity in that short time frame, though, he has taken full advantage of it.
Nelson appeared in three games last year, without recording a statistic, before earning a start in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. He went on to record four tackles and one pass defended in the Gamecocks’ season finale.
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During that game, he also discovered how the pace of play changes significantly from practice to games.
“I remember a lot from the bowl game – just how quickly the game moved, how I had to fill gaps quicker, how you got to cover a man quicker,” Nelson said, smiling. “It’s not like practice where you get not as quickly and stuff like that.”
Nelson has since spent the offseason continuing to develop and hone new skills. Heading into his redshirt freshman campaign, he is looking to carve out a role for himself in the South Carolina secondary.
In summer practices, Nelson has predominantly featured at nickel back but has the skillset necessary to add depth at safety.
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“That’s my main position, nickel right now,” Nelson said. “I’ve just been working there, I’m more comfortable there, and I’m making plays there.”
Outside of last year’s bowl game, most of Nelson’s contributions came off the bench. But with Cam Smith and Darius Rush off to the NFL, there are snaps to go around.
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This year, he has seen some time with the first team as the South Carolina coaching staff experiments with different lineups.
“I’m getting a good amount of reps with the ones, you know, going around,” Nelson said. “Everybody’s getting reps with the ones, just mixing in and stuff this preseason. So we’re all getting good reps in and good plays together.”
Nelson gave credit to defensive backs coach Torrian Gray for helping him to take his game up another level.
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“Coach Gray’s helped me a lot. He’s showing me a deeper level of the game. Like, a deeper to the defense and showing me different ways offenses can move and shift, and that just helped me grow to a deeper level in the game.”
Nelson said that alongside Gray’s guidance, remaining confident in his own abilities will be one of his keys to success in this campaign.
“I’m kind of a big DB, so me being able to get into the core a little bit kind of helps us a lot making tackles. I had no problems making tackles or covering slot receivers. I can do it. And I just believe in myself that I could do stuff like that. So me having belief and confidence to do it, I can go out there and do it.”
