Clemson Football: Bring back the ‘No Fly Zone’ in 2019
The Clemson football defensive backs are going to be a huge part of the success for the Tigers in 2019. They need to bring back the ‘No Fly Zone.’
Do you remember the Clemson football defensive backfield that coined themselves ‘No Fly Zone?’
It was a group that consisted of some very talented players, including Mackensie Alexander, Cordrea Tankersley, Jayron Kearse TJ Green, as well as Adrian Baker.
That group was solid and did a really god job at getting after the ball and making plays. Though they couldn’t get job done against Alabama- of course there were some injuries- that was still a very good defensive backfield for the Tigers.
Alexander was one of the best cornerbacks to ever play for Clemson football and Tankersley turned out to be really good, as well. TJ Green was speedy and physical, while Jayron Kearse played with a swagger. I think there were times that this group- especially at safety- checked out with eyes on the NFL Draft, but there’s no doubting their talent and ability.
In 2019, Clemson football needs to bring back that ‘No Fly Zone’ mentality.
It’s not necessarily about looking back at the 2015 group and picking out what they did right and what they did wrong. It’s more about the mentality that they had.
They had the confidence that any time a quarterback put the ball up in the air that they were going to knock it down or pick it off. They had the confidence that no one was going to get behind them and that there wasn’t going to be any blown coverages.
That confidence and swagger led to a lot of pass-breakups.
This 2019 Clemson football defensive backfield features more depth and a ton of talent. The Tigers return AJ Terrell, K’Von Wallace, Tanner Muse and Isaiah Simmons from last year. They also have talented guys behind them in Kyler McMichael, Mario Goodrich, Denzel Johnson and several others.
In the summer, 5-star DB Andrew Booth will join the group. He promises to be a stud from the first day he steps on campus.
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This group needs to play with a swagger and confidence that they’re the best defensive backfield in the country. The unit was extremely inconsistent and got beat on several occasions last season. When talking to the media following those games, they said that the problems were more mental than anything else.
It’s going to be important that they fix those mental errors in 2019- just as they did against Alabama- and one way to do that is to play with more confidence going forward.