Clemson Football: DB room evolving as we head into the summer
The Clemson football defensive backs room is getting a little bigger heading into the summer. Here’s our post-spring look at the positional unit.
The defensive backs are the most experienced positional group on the Clemson football defense heading into 2019.
The Tigers return three starters in the defensive backfield from last year’s team in K’Von Wallace, Tanner Muse and AJ Terrell. Though Isaiah Simmons is a linebacker, he also plays the Nickel position and could be considered with that group, as well.
The only spot the Tigers have to fill in the starting lineup is the cornerback opposite-side of AJ Terrell.
That has been one tough spot to fill so far, though.
Coming into the spring, it was expected that Kyler McMichael would get the majority of snaps at that position and perhaps etch him name into the starting lineup, at least heading into the summer. Unfortunately, both McMichael and his teammate Mario Goodrich were sidelined for part of the spring, leaving the cornerbacks thin.
Freshman Sheridan Jones did a solid job and proved that he was capable of playing the position, but the Tigers needed more depth and more bodies to get through spring practice.
In step Derion Kendrick.
Kendrick was just playing cornerback to provide depth during the spring, but he proved to be much more than a body. Clemson football defensive coordinator Brent Venables said that Kendrick would be the starter at that position if the games started today.
He’s that good in coverage.
Kendrick picked up on the concepts pretty fast and is now in position to join the group and potentially play both cornerback and wide receiver this coming season.
He won’t be the only addition to the defensive backfield, though.
5-star Andrew Booth will step on campus here in just a couple of months. It will be interesting to watch the competition between Booth, Kendrick, McMichael and Jones all at that one position.
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The defensive backfield is evolving into something really special as we head into the summer. The group that caused the most trouble for the Tigers last year could prove to be one of the team’s strengths in 2019.