Two brothers who once shared the same football path are now chasing separate goals in different places, but Jalon and Gerald Kilgore are still tied together by the same kind of work ethic that got them here.
Jalon, the Buffalo Bills’ 167th pick in the NFL Draft, is already feeling the difference between the dream of getting drafted and the grind that comes after it. The call from Buffalo came two-and-a-half months ago, and he reacted the way plenty of young players would: head down, tears flowing, then a hug with his older brother, Gerald, in one of the draft’s most genuine moments.
Since then, the rookie has moved into the real business of trying to stick. There has been rookie minicamp, offseason training and the hard lesson that being selected doesn’t mean a spot on the field is waiting for you. Jalon said he’s leaning on the veterans around him and trying to absorb everything he can.
“(I’m) really trying to be like a sponge,” Kilgore told The State. “I’ve got a lot of vets in my room and I’m just trying to get to understanding the building and level everything out. Just really feel it out and find my space, my comfortable zone.
“(My goal) is really just to stay polished and continue to be ready when I come back to camp,” he added, “so I can show my full abilities and understand the playbook 100 percent.”
Before training camp sends him back to western New York, Jalon is training in Atlanta and spending time around his hometown of Putnam County, Georgia. The town has already celebrated him once, throwing a send-off party before he left for Buffalo.
Now the brothers are coming back together for a different kind of event. On Saturday, Jalon and Gerald will co-host a youth football camp at their former high school.
“It should be really, really big,” Gerald said. “We have a lot of people involved.
We have our (Putnam County High) athletic director involved. We have the principal of our old high school involved. ...
Just the amount of people that have their hands on the camp and are helping us out, we definitely expect it to be big.”
Gerald’s own football story has taken a winding route. He’s a redshirt senior defensive back for South Carolina now, but he started out as a high school quarterback, spent two years at Tennessee Tech as a QB, then joined his brother at South Carolina in 2024 and switched to defensive back.
His first season with the Gamecocks was mostly about special teams. Last year, though, his role grew at safety, and he made the most of his chances as a reserve defensive back. Gerald finished with 14 tackles and two interceptions, tying for the team lead, and one of those picks went 45 yards for a touchdown against Kentucky.
“My confidence in myself never wavered. I always knew who I was, the type of player I was,” Gerald said. “I know that when I do get into the game, I’m ready for it and I’m ready to show out.”
South Carolina brought in more than two dozen transfers this offseason, but Gerald has become one of the program’s more established faces. That has pushed his role beyond what happens on Saturdays.
“(I’ve shown) how consistent I can be, and how far consistency can take you,” he said. “So that’s showing up in a lot of different ways. My role on the team is very much increased to a much higher level, and that’s on and off the field - just being a spokesman for the team.”
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