Wonnum: South Carolina 'set me up to be here'
D.J. Wonnum was about unheralded as they come as a recruit. Listed as a tight end, Wonnum was barely given a three-star ranking by Rivals and finished the process with only four Power Five offers and only one from a school within 1000 miles of his high school in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
But almost immediately, Wonnum began to make waves as a defensive end. When all was said and done, Wonnum would gain two inches and 25 pounds as a Gamecock, growing into one of the most feared pass rushers in the SEC.
As Wonnum moves on to the NFL ranks, he again finds himself behind some of the bigger names at the edge rusher position. He won’t be the first edge rusher taken, but he knows where he best fits.
“Basically [NFL coaches] see me as an edge rusher in a 3-4 defense,” Wonnum said. “I’m able to drop (into coverage) sometimes, but mostly I’ll be a versatile player against the run and pass.”
Wonnum is a bit of an in-between defensive end-linebacker hybrid; he could gain a bit of weight and play as either a 4-3 “Wide 9” or “7-technique” defensive end (Like how the 49ers use Nick Bosa and Dee Ford) or slim down just a bit and play as a 3-4 edge rusher like Von Miller or Khalil Mack.
Wonnum is definitely a player that would benefit from a defensive coordinator with a clear plan of how to use him. If a team falls in love with him and has a plan to use his versatility, he could end up going early in the fourth round.
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Wonnum wasn’t the only player from his family to don a Gamecock uniform, as his younger brother played on the offensive side of the ball, often directly opposite of D.J.
“We went against each other (in practice) a couple times,” Wonnum said. “He’s a competitor just like I’m a competitor and we’re gonna compete each day. At the end of the day, we still love each other but we’re gonna get the best out of each other.”
Healthy after an injury-riddled junior year, Wonnum put up big numbers as a senior, racking up 37 tackles and 4.5 sacks and earning AP 2nd Team All-SEC honors at season’s end.
Wonnum has looked solid in Senior Bowl practice so far and could use a strong performance this week to improve his draft stock.
Wonnum won’t be the first defensive lineman off the board, he might not be the 20th, but he’ll once again have the opportunity to prove himself underestimated. As Wonnum explained, it only takes one team.
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“[Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson], Coach Muschamp and Coach Lance (Thompson) all gave me a chance to come play with the best in SEC competition,” Wonnum said. “It’s been great these past four years, just improving and getting better each year. Those guys just believing in me and allowing me to come to [South Carolina] and showcase my talents, it set me up to be here playing with elite competition.”
Just as South Carolina was that one SEC team, Wonnum needs one NFL team to do the same.
Watch the full interview with Wonnum at the 2020 Reese's Senior Bowl below.
