Clemson football: Derion Kendrick could make Tigers look inward

The Clemson football career for Derion Kendrick will be looked at as basically a failed experiment under the assessment of Tiger fans.

Though Kendrick showed bright spots and had moments where he looked like one of the best cornerbacks in the ACC, he also was beaten on many occasions and simply couldn’t come up with the play when Clemson needed it most. For much of the 2020 season, Kendrick was sidelined spending time in Dabo Swinney’s ‘love shack’ and then he was dismissed from the Clemson football program earlier this spring.

Now, Kendrick will get a second chance as he transfers to play his final season (or two) of college football with the Georgia Bulldogs.

Derion Kendrick could make Clemson football look inwardly if things go as UGA fans believe they will

Many Georgia fans believe they have just locked up the second-coming of Primetime with the transfer of Kendrick. We’ve heard radio hosts and many analyst talk of Kendrick as if he’s an All-SEC team lock and that he’s going to be a consensus first-rounder.

If that ends up being the case, Clemson football may need to take a look inwardly.

The Tigers have done well producing talented defensive backs in the past, don’t get me wrong. A.J. Terrell, Mackensie Alexander, Cordrea Tankersley and Bashaud Breeland are just a few examples.

But when was the last time that Tiger fans really felt good about the secondary? 2018 had a really good defensive backfield, but everyone would still say that was the weakness of the defensive unit. Both 2019 and 2020 saw its secondary get eaten at times and absolutely toasted in the CFB Playoff.

More so than that: Who is the last defensive back that you feel as if Clemson got more out of than it was supposed to? Terrell was a 4-star (or 5-star) coming out of high school. Alexander was a 5-star who still wasn’t taken until the second-round. Maybe Breeland?

Clemson football has prided itself on development and the Tigers do an excellent job of that. It’s our opinion that we’ll see guys like Andrew Booth Jr., Sheridan Jones and Mario Goodrich take steps forward this season.

But if Kendrick does go to Georgia and he does become a lockdown cornerback, don’t the Tigers have to at least take a look inwardly and make sure they’re doing everything they possibly can to develop talent in the secondary? We’re not talking about culture. We’re talking about talent development.

Because, honestly, when Kendrick was on the field during 2020, it seemed like he was too soft. It seemed that many members of the secondary were out of position all too often and he was at the top of that list.

Maybe Kendrick just needed a new environment and there’s nothing that Clemson could take away from it if he turned into a superstar at Georgia, but you’ve got to believe that as good as this staff is, that they’ll take note and continue to make changes to make sure they’re getting the most out of the talent they’re bringing in.

In the end, this really has nothing to do with Clemson football. Kendrick had personal issues that hindered his growth and development. But that still doesn’t mean that the Tigers can’t constantly look inward and make adjustments. That should reign especially true if they see one of their former starters go to another program and have first-round level success.