Perfect Fit: Kinlaw thrilled

ing next to guys like that, I think it leaves opportunities for me to get a lot of one-on-ones.”

Kinlaw waited just over two hours to hear his name called by San Francisco, but the brief delay was worth it. Turns out, it’s exactly what he wanted.

On Friday, April 24, the foreshadowing became reality.

Kinlaw was taken by San Francisco with the No. 14 overall pick in the first round, becoming the first of four South Carolina players selected. The 6-5, 324-pound defensive tackle became the highest drafted Gamecock since Jadeveon Clowney went No. 1 overall in 2014.

“He was actually the first guy on our list that we would’ve taken at 13,” San Francisco general manager John Lynch told reporters. “He’s a guy that we had zeroed in on for a while. … We have built a pretty good [defensive line] unit here and we wanted to keep that strong. We thought he was a great fit for that.”

GREAT FIT

Kinlaw joins Deebo, elite defensive line in San Francisco

By Josh Hyber | Staff writer • Photos by Allen Sharpe & Jenny Dilworth

Just days before the 2020 NFL Draft, Deebo Samuel called Javon Kinlaw and told his former South Carolina teammate that the latter was going to be chosen by his San Francisco 49ers.

Though, as Lynch noted, San Francisco traded down from its original pick, it was still able to add Kinlaw to a fearsome defensive line that includes former first-rounders Nick Bosa (No. 2, 2019), Dee Ford (No. 23, 2014), Arik Armstead (No. 15, 2017) and Solomon Thomas (No. 3, 2017).

“I think they might’ve been the best defensive line in football last year,” Kinlaw said. “I’m not just saying that. The way they play, they play the right way. I feel like they play the way the game is supposed to be played.

“They just go after it. Penetrating, getting off the ball. … And that’s what I like to do. … Play

He’s big enough. He’s strong enough. He’s fast enough. He had the want to, obviously. He’s hungry, literally and figuratively.

– FORMER GAMECOCK STAR LANGSTON MOORE

Days before the draft, Kinlaw was asked by a fan during a question-and-answer session with Bleacher Report which team would draft him if he had the choice.

“I’d say the 49ers,” he answered.

It also turns out Kinlaw’s dad, George, has been a 49ers fan his entire life. George was captured sprawled out on a floor in jubilation after the pick was made.

Former NFL GM Charley Casserly called Kinlaw to San Francisco his favorite pick of the first round. “A quick, explosive, perfect fit in that 4-3 defense where you want that penetrating defensive tackle,” the current NFL Network analyst said on NFL Total Access.

Former Gamecock defensive lineman Langston Moore (1999-2002) told Spurs & Feathers he expects Kinlaw to thrive at the next level.

“I think this is a great fit for him,” the six-year NFL veteran said. “It’s a great group of guys for him to be around where he can learn and flourish, but also be pushed, because a lot of those guys are high-fliers and achievers. And that’s a big thing.

“The biggest upside for Kinlaw is that he doesn’t know how good he can be. There is no cap on him. He is so raw and so young. Throwing him into a situation like this, it’s probably going to allow him to go out there and do some things he maybe really didn’t think he could do.”

Moore, the former South Carolina sideline reporter, crossed paths with Kinlaw a few times this spring while working out at The Star — the Cowboys’ world-class operations center — in Frisco, Texas, and knew his Low

country brethren was ready for the NFL. The Charleston native has had his eye on Kinlaw, a product of Goose Creek, for a while.

“Physically, he’s always been a pro-type body,” Moore said. “Even at 18 years old, he could run, had some moves and do some different things. … The biggest thing for me was always having him be comfortable in one posi- tion and always playing with great technique.

“He’s big enough. He’s strong enough. He’s fast enough. He had the want to, obvi- ously. He’s hungry, liter- ally and figuratively.”

Moore, who played for renowned defensive mind Rod Marinelli with the Detroit Lions, believes in Lynch’s theory that a dominant defensive line can skyrocket a team into contention. San Francisco defensive line coach Robert Saleh spent three seasons on Seattle’s defensive staff, one of which ended with the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

“The old cliché is that you win in the trenches,” Moore said. “That’s true for offense and defense. … That’s the same model that San Francisco is trying to put together.”

Getting drafted was the culmination of a long and winding road for Kinlaw, who grew up homeless at times in Washington, D.C. As a child, Kinlaw and his brother lived with his mother, who moved from Trinidad to D.C. in 1995 and struggled to make ends meet.

He grew up living in rundown apartments with no electricity or running water and sometimes stayed in basements at his friends’ houses. He wore the same clothes daily and wore a hoodie in the cold winter months because he did not own a coat.

In the ninth grade Kinlaw moved to be with his dad in Charleston, where he played football for the first time at Goose Creek High School. Though he was a raw player still learn- ing the game, he was offered a scholarship by former South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier.

When Will Muschamp took over in 2016, he convinced Kinlaw to attend Jones County Junior College in Mississippi to develop as both a player and academically.

After a year in Mississippi, Kinlaw arrived at South Carolina with expectations of, in his words, “just being a football player.” He weighed 360 pounds and was just another talented athlete on the Gamecock depth chart.

But, under the tutelage of team dietician Kristin Coggin, Kinlaw worked his way into a chiseled 6-6, 310 pounds and made giant leaps on and off the field.

Kinlaw had 82 tackles (18 for loss) and 10.5 sacks in his three seasons as a Gamecock. He

also had 10 passes defended, four fumble re- coveries and three forced fumbles. As a senior in 2019 he had 35 tackles and six sacks, tying for the eighth-most in the SEC. He also added four quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and one blocked kick.

He was named an Asso- ciated Press first-team All

American, a second-team All-American by USA TODAY and a first-team All-SEC selection by SEC coaches. The mid- season All-American was recognized as the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after South

Carolina’s upset win over

Georgia after recording four tackles and a sack. Kinlaw shot up draft boards after his dominant performance at Georgia, where he played 95 snaps and refused to come out of the game against the No. 3 Bulldogs.

“That’s just who I am as a person. That’s just my makeup,” he said after the draft. “It’s just in my DNA. On the field, off the field, I just want to be that guy. I feel like I was born to be that guy.”

Now it’s up to Kinlaw to devote as much time as he can to honing his craft, just like he did at South Carolina.

“He used his athleticism and, of course, did all the small things, getting himself in shape and learning the systems — all of this is a tribute to him and all his hard work,” Moore said.

It’s also now about consistency — playing against offensive linemen who will use more counter moves than he’s ever seen and playing when tired. Like Moore put it, it’s about adding value, showing up and staying on the field (he’s fully recovered from knee tendinitis that kept him from on-field workouts at the combine) and learning as many possible ways to help his team.

“There are not many 6-6, 300-plus pound guys that have his athleticism,” former South Carolina defensive line coach John Scott Jr. said before this past season. “He’s really strong and he’s got something only God can give you, extremely long arms so he can separate off blockers.

“If you had to draw up the body type for that league, that’s the body type. With my time with the Jets we had Leonard Wil- liams, a 6-6, 310-pound guy with that kind of athleticism.”

Kinlaw’s ability to learn and compete will be more important than ever.

“He’s well on his way,” Moore said. Said Kinlaw, “Hands down. I’m ready.”