The Clemson football rookies had good NFL debuts.

Tonight is the start of another slate of NFL preseason games that will involve Clemson football rookies. How will they do this week?

Here is a recap of what the rookies did last week.

Jayron Kearse. Kearse thwarted the Cincinnati Bengals comeback attempt with an interception in the fourth quarter. The Vikings won 17-16 and he had 5 tackles(4 solo), one pass defense, and a quarterback hit. Defensive Coordinator George Edwards talked about the play of his rookie safety.

"I think the one thing that we see is him consistently getting better and understanding what it is we’re trying to do concept-wise, understanding alignments, understanding the reads, whether it’s a vision spot or whatever we’re doing as far as coverage, where to fit on the run and all those types of things. He seems to come out here, and he corrects his mistakes from the day before and has really been in tune to what we’re trying to get accomplished from that position."

Charone Peake. Peake is battling for a spot on the Jets roster and he really helped his cause with his play last week. He has been stellar in practice and it transferred to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the 17-13 Jets win, he led the team in catches and had a 19 yard touchdown reception.

After the game, he was asked about the touchdown.

“Oh man, it felt great. It was crazy, because I didn’t even know that I was in the end zone or I was near the sideline. I was just hoping that the ref would say that I caught the ball, but I seen him put his hands up as a touchdown. I was pretty excited.”

B.J. Goodson. “B.J. was flying around,” first-year head coach Ben McAdoo said. “I thought he had a good night. I think he ended up cramping up at the end there. But he was flying around, making plays and looking like he was having fun. It was good to get him a bunch of reps.”

Goodson is currently the third string MIKE linebacker, but after having 8 total tackles(7 solo) and 2 tackles for loss against Miami.

Does Goodson think that he has a chance to start?

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“It’s really up to the coaches,” Goodson said after the Giants 27-10 loss to the Dolphins. “I’m going to just try and do my best and wherever they see a fit is where I’ll play and I’ll do my best.”

T.J. Green. Green logged 20 defensive snaps in his first NFL game as a starter and finished with 4 tackles(3 solo). Here are a few comments from his post game interview after the Colts 19-18 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

“It felt good for me to go out there you know, be able to put the pads back on, and actually go out there and hit somebody. He also said, “It gave me a good chance to evaluate myself and just look at plays that I need to grow on. The main thing was going out there, playing fast, and knowing what to do.”

Mackensie Alexander. Not only did he get his first game action interception since high school, but he had 2 tackles and two pass breakups in the Vikings 17-16 win. That was more action than he routinely got in two games against college quarterbacks. NFL quarterbacks won’t be as reluctant to test him as college quarterbacks, but he is determined and feisty and that combination has worked well for him so far-even as a pro.

Minnesota Vikings play by play announcer, Paul Allen asked Vikings Defensive Coordinator George Edwards about Alexander’s feistiness.

"He really is. He likes to get up there and get his hands on, you know, the receivers early in the downs. He’s done a good job of that. But credit to him, he’s playing the nickel and outside as a rookie. He’s got a lot on his plate and he’s really done a good job of working through the mental aspect of it."

Schedule of upcoming games involving the Clemson football rookies:

must read: Update: Freshmen who will avoid redshirts

Tonight. 7:30pm, New York Jets vs Washington Redskins.

Saturday. 3:00pm, Carolina Panthers vs Tennessee Titans. Kevin Dobb is active for the Titans but will not play. He will continue to try to get in shape after being taken off the PUP(Physically Unable to Perform) on yesterday.

4:00pm. New York Giants vs Buffalo Bills.

7:00pm. Baltimore Ravens vs Indianapolis Colts.

8:00pm. New Orleans Saints vs Houston Texans. D.J. Reader didn’t have any stats from last week.

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