Rock Hill’s own Derion Kendrick selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2022 NFL draft
A Rock Hill native has achieved his NFL dreams.
Derion Kendrick, the South Pointe High School football star who’d later go on to win national championships at both Clemson and Georgia, has been selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Los Angeles Rams drafted him with the 212th overall pick, in the sixth round, on Saturday afternoon.
Kendrick is the eighth player from the 70,000-person city of Rock Hill since 2010 to be drafted. Among some of the best players to be drafted out of Rock Hill: Jadeveon Clowney (No. 1 overall pick in 2014), Stephon Gilmore (No. 10 pick in 2012) and Cordarrelle Patterson (No. 29 pick in 2013).
In Kendrick, the reigning Super Bowl champions are getting an explosive defensive back who has thrived at every level he’s played.
The Rock Hill native was a generational talent at South Pointe. As a senior, he led the Stallions to a 15-0 record and a fourth straight state championship — finishing his prep career with 6,134 passing yards, 1,919 rushing yards and 98 total touchdowns. He was a Shrine Bowler and the 2017 South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year.
Kendrick then signed to play football at Clemson and immediately made an impact. He was a wide receiver as a freshman and helped Clemson to an undefeated season and a 2018 national championship.
Ahead of the 2019 season, he earned a starting role as a cornerback, the position at which he remained, and earned second-team (2019) and first-team (2020) All-ACC selections.
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Kendrick was dismissed from the team in February ahead of his senior campaign at Clemson, entered the transfer portal and joined Georgia for 2021. The Bulldogs won a national championship in Kendrick’s sole year there — and he was a key reason why.
He finished with All-SEC second-team honors and notched a team-high four interceptions. (Two of those interceptions came in the College Football Playoff semifinal, in which he was named the game’s defensive MVP after recording two interceptions and five tackles in his team’s win over Michigan.)
Players from Rock Hill in the NFL
Kendrick will join five others from Rock Hill who will be playing in the NFL this year.
Jadeveon Clowney: The South Pointe alum and South Carolina Gamecock product was a supernova in high school and college. The defensive end was the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft and is still a big name in the NFL. Clowney plays for the Cleveland Browns.
Stephon Gilmore: Another South Pointe and USC great, Gilmore is one of the most versatile and formidable defensive backs in the NFL. He was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 with the New England Patriots and has since been traded a few times. He “came home” to the Carolina Panthers last season for a short stint, where he recorded two interceptions in three games started, and he’s now with the Indianapolis Colts.
Cordarrelle Patterson: The Northwestern graduate has carved out quite the niche and is now one of the Atlanta Falcons’ most dynamic players. He returns kicks. He takes handoffs out of the backfield. He lines up as a WR. In 2021, he notched a career-best 1,166 yards from scrimmage and recorded 11 total touchdowns (five receiving, six rushing).
Mason Rudolph: The Northwestern graduate and former Oklahoma State Cowboy was the first quarterback from York, Chester and Lancaster counties to start in the NFL when he did so in 2019. Rudolph served as a backup in Ben Roethlisberger’s final season of football.
Nick McCloud: The South Pointe grad attended N.C. State and Notre Dame in college, and he earned his spot on an NFL roster last season. After going undrafted, the defensive back from Rock Hill played two games for the Cincinnati Bengals before getting picked up by the Buffalo Bills, which is where he is now.
Recently retired: Benjamin Watson (Northwestern), Johnathan Joseph (Northwestern).
This story was originally published April 30, 2022 at 5:47 PM.
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