South Carolina’s defense got a huge lift on Monday when pass rusher Kingsley “J.J.” Enagbare announced that he would return for the 2021 season under Shane Beamer and new defensive coordinator Clayton White.

Enagbare led the Gamecocks with six sacks in 2020, and until late in the season, he was also the SEC’s leader in sacks, as he did that in eight games. He missed the last two games, but overall also had seven tackles for a loss with three forced fumbles and two QB hurries.

In his social media announcement, Enagbare wrote, “I am excited to say I’ll be returning to the university of South Carolina to finish what I started. 1) play my last season as a graduate student; 2) perfect my game; 3) suit up with my brothers and play championship level football. #bethechange.”

Enagbare, a 6-4 junior from Atlanta, was named to the All-SEC first team by the coaches this past season as he was second in the league in sacks. Enagbare had 30 tackles on the year, and in the season opener against Tennessee (Sept. 26), he had a career-best nine tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. He had six tackles, a sack and a forced fumble at Ole Miss and had a pair of quarterback hurries in a win over Auburn.