Throughout the next couple of months, we will break down each 2019 Clemson football freshmen. Today, let’s take a look at safety Joseph Charleston.
The 2019 Clemson football freshman class is one of the largest in quite some time.
With 29 signees and 17 early enrollees, the Tigers took in a full class for the first time in more than a half-decade.
Over the course of the next couple of months, we’ll take a look at each of the new faces that Tiger fans will be growing accustomed to seeing for the next three to four seasons.
Today, we continue that series with safety Joseph Charleston.
Talent Analysis:
Joseph Charleston started a trend for Clemson football. He was the first to commit in the 2019 class and is the first highly rated safety to commit to the Tigers in quite some time.
The Tigers have been able to get highly-rated guys at lots of positions, including cornerback, linebacker, defensive line, quarterback and wide receiver, but very rarely had they gotten a highly-rated safety.
Charleston was exactly that.
He is a physical specimen who is able to play in coverage. Charleston isn’t afraid to come up and make the tackle in a run situation, but he excels in pass-coverage. Tiger fans have grown accustomed to having the defense allow the ‘top to be blown off’ over the past few years with missed assignments from the safeties, but that’s going to become less of an occurrence because of Charleston.
He’ll need a couple of years to develop into an elite safety, but he has the potential to develop into an All-ACC caliber player and one of the top safeties in the country.
Immediate Impact?
The Tigers return both starters at safety coming into this season in Tanner Muse and K’Von Wallace. After those two, Nolan Turner and Denzel Johnson are guys that have garnered playing time in the past.
I think you’ll see Charleston compete with Turner and Johnson for a spot on that two-deep. He’s going to avoid a redshirt and play some significant snaps at the back of that defense.
As the season progresses, we’ll see more of Charleston.
He’s talented and ready to contribute and we’ll see that early on in his career.