On Thursday, the NFL announced its Pro Bowl rosters for both the NFC and AFC. A former South Carolina football star made the NFC team as Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn earned his first Pro Bowl selection. It likely will not be his last. Horn and the rest of the Pro Bowlers will play on February 2nd in Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
Horn’s father Joe made four Pro Bowls as a wide receiver with the New Orleans Saints.
This season with the Panthers (with one regular season game remaining), Horn has logged 68 tackles and two sacks. His one interception and 13 pass break-ups might not sound impressive, but they demonstrate how often other teams avoided throwing the ball in his direction. Horn has been one of the top cover corners in football this year.
Arguably the biggest difference for Horn this year over previous years was his health. The Panthers corner missed just one game in 2024. He missed 11 in 2023, four in 2022, and 14 in 2021. Now healthy, Horn has delivered the same level of production he showed in garnet and black.
During his South Carolina football career, Horn was an All-SEC and Freshman All-SEC contributor. However, he was better than his reward resume might indicate. Playing on some struggling USC teams likely hurt his national perception until he went No. 8 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Horn also had one of the best coverage games in Gamecock history against Auburn in 2020. Tigers quarterback Bo Nix (who now plays in the NFL for the Denver Broncos) targeted Horn directly six times. Horn picked off Nix twice and knocked away three of the four other passes. One of the deflections resulted in another USC interception for safety Jaylin Dickerson, and Horn’s one allowed completion came via a bobbling catch through perfect single coverage on a deep ball.
