Lance Thompson said he wants at least five defensive tackles he can rotate in this year with a rotation of six being "greedy."

He's still trying to figure out who will fill in the back of the rotation, but knows who he has at the front leading the pack, mainly because it's hard to miss him.

Javon Kinlaw, listed at 6-foot-6 and 302 pounds, is the biggest defensive lineman on the team and is carving out one of maybe the biggest roles on the defense heading into his junior year.

"That kid had a really tremendous year last year in terms of what he came in at and what, at the end of the season, the level he was playing," the defensive line coach said. "The best thing about him is his attitude, his willingness to work and to learn and wanting to get better."

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Kinlaw, who moved quickly from rotation player to starter last season, picked up 20 tackles and had three pass breakups.

Coming in weighing close to 340 pounds, he's slimmed down and gotten stronger and sits right now near 300 pounds.

Last season was focused on getting to the level where he could play consistently, now it's about putting it all together and using the raw talent he showed flashes of having last year and molding it into an all-around game.

"What I want him to do is recognize blocks quicker, be better with his blow delivery and his block protection techniques, which comes with time and developing a primary pass rush move in pass situation and a couple counters off that," Thompson said. "Instead of using raw power become a student of the game and really develop yourself in terms of your skill set.”

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He's already shown a little bit of that, picking up two sacks last season and recovering two fumbles, including one in the team's Outback Bowl appearance.

He's a unique blend of size, strength and agility and if he continues to improve in his second year at South Carolina, Thompson said Kinlaw can become a nationally elite defensive tackle and develop into a future NFL player.

“I think without question," he said. "We had pro day and you watch him run around—you don’t see guys that are 6-5, 6-6, 305 pounds run around like he does. He runs around like a linebacker. That’s rare. That’s one of the reasons we recruited him.”

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Thompson, who's been a part of three national championship teams, has been around his fair share of talented defensive players and said Kinlaw can be as good as any of them.

It's up to him, he said, to continuing to develop but right now he passes the eye test.

“He catches everybody’s eye," Thompson said. "If you’re a football guy and you’re standing on the sidelines and you see that big joker you’re like, 'Who the heck is that?' I think that’s pretty obvious.”