We continue our weeklong series looking at breakout players in the SEC for the 2026 season. We stay on the defensive side of the ball for a third consecutive day and head to Columbia, South Carolina.
South Carolina LB Fred “JayR” Johnson
South Carolina is often an afterthought around the SEC, and that includes the budding stars that they sometimes have. It seemed like no one knew Xavier Legette until the NFL Draft. No one knew Nick Emmanwori until his final year in the garnet and black in 2024. Both of those guys were unheralded recruits that became early round draft picks.
Emmanwori is one of several Gamecock defensive players who have made that leap. In 2024 alone, South Carolina had three former three-star recruits on defense that developed into top 50 overall draft picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Defensive coordinator Clayton White has been exceptional at identifying and developing talent for a program that doesn’t tend to get as many blue chip recruits as some of the other programs in the SEC. That trend hasn’t changed in any year he’s been at South Carolina.
Fred Johnson is the next one he will put in the league.
Johnson is a former four-star recruit from Virginia who is stepping into his third year on campus and his second year as a starting linebacker. At 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, he physically checks every box you need at the position. Last year, was his first year as a starter and he was tremendous. He finished the year with 61 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, one sack, a fumble recovery and one interception. He was everywhere for Clayton White’s defense.
The scouting report from his sophomore season at South Carolina describes him as a “rangy, smooth, fast and extremely talented… playmaker who can rush and cover… has a big upside… has played in all 25 games over the past two seasons making a dozen starts.”
This year should be no different.
South Carolina returns all three linebackers who started in 2025. Despite running a flex nickel defense and traditional 4-2-5 scheme, Johnson should rarely be off the field this season. He played the fifth most snaps of any player on the team (565).
There’s room to grow, but in a season like last year it was obvious that Johnson played hesitant and slower than he’s capable of at times. By all accounts that same hesitancy was gone during spring practice from Johnson who drew comparisons to former second round draft pick Demetrius Knight Jr. who was a starter on this unit in 2024.
Johnson may not be a first or second round pick, but he will burst on the scene this year as a household name when all is said and done in the 2026 season.
