What should Clemson football fans expect from the cornerback group here in the thick of summer? Here’s a look at the positional unit.
Clemson football lost one of its top cornerbacks to the NFL Draft last season when Trayvon Mullen chose to leave early for the NFL Draft.
Mullen was a solid cornerback that was able to give the Tigers an elite option in man-coverage during his time with the program.
With him gone, a starting spot has opened up and there was plenty of competition for the position in the spring. As we are now officially in the season of summer, here’s a look at what Clemson football fans can expect from the cornerbacks.
Summer Expectations: Cornerback
The key returner at the position is AJ Terrell. Terrell was a starter all of last season and really improved as the season went along. Now, he’s stepping into Mullen’s role and will be relied upon in the boundary spot against some of the Tigers’ top opposing wide receivers.
Terrell is going to be expected to take his game to the next level and become one of the top cornerbacks in the conference. He has an opportunity to be a first-rounder in the NFL Draft with a good junior season.
The cornerback spot opposite-side of Terrell is still up for grabs. If the season started today, the coaching staff insisted that Derion Kendrick- who also plays wide receiver- would be the starter. Kendrick competed, largely, with Kyler McMichael and freshman Sheridan Jones at the position this spring.
5-star freshman CB Andrew Booth is now on campus and will factor into the competition, as well, when fall camp comes around. Mario Goodrich is expected to be the backup behind Terrell at this point.
As far as the summer in concerned, Clemson football fans should expect the cornerbacks to improve and get ready for what will be one of the biggest position battles of fall camp in just a month.