Medical redshirt still possible, but this Gamecock is treating 2019 as his senior year
D.J. Wonnum still doesn’t know if he’ll be granted a medical redshirt for 2018 after missing the majority of the season with an ankle injury.
But regardless of if he is or not, the South Carolina football star defensive lineman is treating the upcoming season as his final one.
“I’m expecting this to be my senior year. I haven’t really heard much from them,” regarding the medical redshirt, Wonnum said. “But I’m training every day like it’s my last one.”
Coach Will Muschamp announced that USC would pursue the redshirt for Wonnum in the run-up to the Belk Bowl last December. The Gamecocks are also hoping to get a medical redshirt for linebacker Eldridge Thompson and have been granted one for defensive back J.T. Ibe.
Of course, Wonnum might not even return for the 2020 season even if he is granted the redshirt, choosing instead to enter the NFL draft.
In the meantime, however, he said he’s simply savoring his time left on campus.
“It’s just taking it day by day, getting better, having fun every moment, because it’s my last year,” Wonnum said. “It feels like I literally just walked into college every day, but I’m enjoying it and just having fun each day.”
Now fully recovered from the ankle injury and back on the field for spring practice, Wonnum is trying to recapture the success he had as a sophomore, when he recorded 57 tackles, 13 for loss, six sacks and five passes broken up. He entered his junior season as an All-SEC candidate and finished with 11 tackles, 3.5 for loss, and two sacks in five games.
Wonnum and the Gamecocks defense will face a tall task for his senior year — a schedule loaded with ranked teams and three of the nation’s best programs in Alabama, Clemson and Georgia. But when asked about his expectations for the team this season, Wonnum focused less on results.
“Just us playing hard, getting the ball more than last year. That’s a big emphasis this year. And playing more for our brothers. We did different things just to know our brothers more and play together,” Wonnum said.
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Medical redshirt still possible, but this Gamecock is treating 2019 as his senior year."
