South Carolina safety Jalon Kilgore taken on Day 3 of 2026 NFL draft

After plenty of waiting, South Carolina safety Jalon Kilgore is officially off the board in the 2026 NFL draft. The Buffalo Bills selected him with the 167th overall pick in the fifth round on Saturday.

This has been a long time coming for Kilgore, who spent the past three years as a starter in the Gamecock secondary. He becomes the sixth South Carolina defensive back to play under coach Torrian Gray and go on to be selected in the draft.

Kilgore will join his former Gamecock teammate TJ Sanders in Buffalo. He’s the third South Carolina player to be selected in the draft this weekend, following Brandon Cisse (Green Bay Packers) and Nick Barrett (Los Angeles Chargers).

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Kilgore joined South Carolina as a freshman in 2023, working at safety and nickel, and immediately made his presence felt. He started the final 11 games of the season and was named a first-team Freshman All-American by ESPN.com and 247Sports, while also earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

He capped off the year with a career-high 76 tackles, six pass breakups, one interception and a forced fumble.

The following year, Kilgore didn’t have nearly as many tackles, finishing with 48 in 2024, but he had five pass breakups and five interceptions. Those five interceptions were tied for the SEC lead and tied for fourth in the country, tying Jaylan Foster’s 2021 total for the most by a Gamecock in the last 20 years.

Kilgore was named second-team All-SEC by College Football Nation and third-team All-SEC by Phil Steele at season’s end.

During his junior season, Kilgore became one of five players selected by his teammates as a Rex Enright permanent team captain. He finished with 54 tackles and recorded a career-high 10 pass breakups along with two interceptions. He was named to the All-SEC Second Team as selected by the league’s 16 coaches and was a third-team All-SEC pick by Phil Steele.

The Eatonton, Ga. native had one more year of eligibility remaining but opted not to use it and instead turned pro.

Kilgore’s accomplishments at South Carolina include:

2025 Rex Enright Team Captain
2025 co-Joe Morrison MVP – Defense
2025 First-Team All-SEC (PFSN College)
2025 Second-Team All-SEC (Coaches)
2025 Third-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)
2025 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
2024 Second-Team All-SEC (College Football Nation)
2024 Third-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)
2024 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
2023 First-Team Freshman All-America (ESPN.com, 247Sports)
2023 Third-Team Freshman All-America (College Football News)
2023 SEC All-Freshman (Coaches)
2023 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Semifinalist
2023 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll

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