Stephon Gilmore Scouting Report

Gilmore is just a junior, but he has plenty of experience at the college level. The cornerback was a starter right from the beginning in Columbia, where he earned Freshman All-America honors from a number of media outlets. As a sophomore he was named by the Associated Press to the All-America Third Team and to the All-SEC Second team. The conference's coaches named him to the All-SEC First Team. In 2010 he had three sacks, six tackles for loss, and led the Gamecocks with 79 tackles. So far this season Gilmore has 29 tackles, two interceptions, and five pass breakups through seven games to go along with a fumble recovery that he returned 56 yards.

A native of Rock Hill, SC, Gilmore stands at 6'1'' and 193 pounds--good size for a player at his position. He generally runs around a 4.50 in the 40-yard dash, but has been clocked as fast as 4.42 from that distance. His speed will have to improve a little bit if he wants to become an elite cornerback in the NFL. Taylor is not afraid to be physical with wideouts at the line of scrimmage and he is a sound tackler in addition to excelling when asked to blitz. His coverage skills are average or slightly above average, but he has to get better around the ball. Assuming Gilmore leaves early, he is on the brink of garnering a first-round selection in the 2012 draft and he can all but wrap it up with continued good play during his junior campaign.