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Clemson Football: DB Starters Beginning To Fall Into Place

By Andrew Boardwine

Dec 31, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Clemson Tigers cornerback Cordrea Tankersley (25) breaks up a pass to Oklahoma Sooners tight end Mark Andrews (81) during the second quarter of the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Clemson Tigers cornerback Cordrea Tankersley (25) breaks up a pass to Oklahoma Sooners tight end Mark Andrews (81) during the second quarter of the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Clemson football finished up its spring, but there is still competition for the second CB, but it looks like the starters are beginning to fall into place.

The defensive backfield will be pivotal in the Tigers’ run back to a National Championship and outside of Cordrea Tankersley, there seems to be a lot of question on who will take the other starting position.

The Tigers seemed to have talent, but not a ton of depth heading into spring, but after the dismissal of Kaleb Chalmers and a torn-ACL of Adrian Baker, it made the position even more important.

Now, that Clemson football has finished up its spring, there seems to be- at the very least- a pecking order heading into fall camp. Here is what we know and what will be looking for throughout the summer and heading into the fall for the 2016 Clemson football season.

The coaches are very pleased and impressed with Mark Fields’ talent and athleticism, but right now Ryan Carter is ahead of him.

Here is what Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables said about Fields during the spring.

"“Good kid and highly skilled, but you got to play with great, great discipline and great technique and great toughness every snap back there,” Venables said. “He’s not there. Ryan Carter’s there before he is right now.”"

Other than Fields and Carter, Coach Dabo Swinney has said he has been extremely impressed with Marcus Edmond and even compared him to the likes of Coty Sensabaugh a couple of weeks ago.

"“Marcus is a guy that can play. He has just kind of been that developing guy. A lot of times you forget about those guys because everybody is looking for Mark Fields. Everybody is looking for Mackensie Alexander. Everybody is looking for these guys that are physically gifted,” Swinney said via Tigernet. “You forget about Kevin Dodd. You forget about Marcus Edmond. Coty Sensabaugh. You forget about those guys. B.J. Goodson. But those guys are all improving and getting better. Marcus and Ryan and Cordrea and Mark Fields – that’s a really good group and then Baker is going to be back. That’s a solid group. All these guys can play and then you add in some of the guys that are coming in here. We are going to be just fine.”"

Here are the players in the defensive backfield for the Tigers.

  • Denzel Johnson, CB
  • Korrin Wiggins, S NB
  • Jadar Johnson, S
  • Tanner Muse, S
  • Van Smith, S
  • Cordrea Tankersley, CB
  • Marcus Edmond, CB
  • Mark Fields, CB
  • Adrian Baker (INJURED), CB
  • Ryan Carter, CB
  • Amir Trapp, CB

This is a quick look at the participation of the secondary position for Clemson football.

At this point, I think the Tiger staff is still evaluating what they have, but here are our projected starters heading out of spring camp.

  • CB- Cordrea Tankersley

Backup: Marcus Edmond

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  • CB- Ryan Carter

Backup: Mark Fields

  • S- Jadar Johnson

Backup: Van Smith

  • Nickel- Korrin Wiggins

Most likely, this will be the lineup you see when the Clemson football post spring depth chart is released later in the month. Obviously, the backups could be different and you very well may see Mark Fields start, but right now I think the coaching staff will give the nod to the veteran.

Don’t worry, though, Tiger fans because the competition is far from over. Not only will Fields and Edmond challenge Carter for the second starting spot, but true-freshman Trayvon Mullen will put his name in the pot this summer when he steps on campus.

More tigers: Did Clemson Just Hire It's Special Teams Coach?

It will be interesting to see what happens and if Marcus Edmond moves back to safety after Adrian Baker returns from his injury. There are still a ton of questions in the defensive backfield, but there is certainly talent to replace those that moved on to the NFL.

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