Bryan Edwards knows the circus catches and leaping grabs, like this one, will make the rounds on social media. He admits the plays defensive backs usually make during scrimmages don’t get the same publicity.

If they did, it’s fair to say Jaycee Horn would have had a few different videos pop up on social media this last month.

“He’s one of the biggest surprises (of camp),” quarterback Jake Bentley said. “He’s a guy you look at and say, ‘Wow, that’s a big-time play.’ He made those all camp. All camp he made play after play.”

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Horn, who enrolled this summer, quickly found his way into taking meaningful snaps during practice and played so well that the coaches had to find a way to get him into the starting lineup.

The true freshman is listed now as the starting nickel back, ahead of Jamyest Williams, and head coach Will Muschamp said there’s a chance he could play outside at cornerback as well.

It’s not unusual for the Gamecocks to have a freshman on the field; Williams started last year at nickel as a freshman and Keir Thomas, Sherrod Greene and a handful of other players saw action their freshmen seasons.

But Horn, who’s gone up against the likes of Edwards and Deebo Samuel all camp, isn’t like normal freshmen.

“I see a mature young guy that’s really coming along. He’s made tremendous strides from day one until now. I’m really confident about that guy,” Edwards said.

“He’s not your average freshman. He’s going to play a lot for us.”

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Horn’s longer than a lot of other cornerbacks. Listed at 6-1, 195 pounds, he’s the tallest and heaviest defensive back in the starting lineup.

That’s come in handy this camp, Muschamp said, using his size and length to beat receivers to the ball downfield.

Bentley admitted Horn’s picked him off a few times, and Edwards said he’s gotten beat on routes during practice going against the freshman. So, when it came time to give their head coach a rundown of practice standouts, the receivers didn’t waste any time mentioning Horn.

“I got to Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards and go, ‘Who do you like?’ ‘Jaycee is good coach’,”Muschamp said. “He gets his hands on the ball a lot. When you’re able to do that, I tell guys all the time we’re going to figure a way to get you on the field if you can get your hands on the ball.”

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Horn, who’s from Alpharetta (Ga.) High School, de-committed from Tennessee and signed with South Carolina on national signing day.

Since then, he’s been terrorizing the Gamecocks’ quarterbacks and wide outs.

Soon, it’ll be time for him to do that to another team.

“He’s a baller. He’s definitely a baller," T.J. Brunson said. "I’m looking forward to seeing him play. He listens to the coaches, he’s very coachable and he makes plays. I don’t think you can ask for much more.”

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