Clemson football: Five defensive players who could have breakout seasons

Nate Wiggins

Clemson needs to replace both of their starting cornerbacks from 2021. Andrew Booth is with the Vikings, and Mario Goodrich is with the Eagles.

Sheridan Jones started several games in 2020 while Goodrich was recovering from injury. He is easily the most experienced corner on the 2022 roster, and it appears he will be one of the starters.

While Clemson has players like juniors Fred Davis and Malcolm Greene, all of the chatter – and I literally mean all of it – has been focused on the emergence of sophomore Wiggins.

Wiggins flipped to the Tigers late in the 2021 recruiting cycle. He played well in the spring game that season and found the field as a freshman. He logged 130 snaps over 11 games in 2021. He made a minimal impact with three tackles and three pass breakups. Not exactly stats that get you fired up.

Clemson football is expected to have one of the best defenses in the nation this fall and these five players could play a key role

The hype on Wiggins isn’t coming from the box scores or the media. It has originated with his coaches and his teammates. Coach Dabo Swinney has been blunt about Wiggins’ challenges as a freshman:

"“Very, very immature guy last year from just from a football – loves to play, incredibly talented, very competitive – but just just a young guy maturing and really buying in to what it takes”"

Swinney has been equally blunt about Wiggins’ turnaround going into this season’s camp:

"“Because it takes what it takes, there’s no shortcut to it. And I think that’s the biggest thing I saw was him really buying into what it takes to not just be good, but be great. He’s got the ability to be great – Nate the Great. He can do it, but [maturity] is his only limitation. I’m really proud of that kid, man, I really am. He’s got a great mama and I’m really glad that we have him. He’s been a lot of fun to coach.”"

Wiggins’ teammates have echoed his head coach’s sentiments. They feel that he has the right attitude to match his athleticism. They are expecting great things from him this year.

If they are right, Wiggins could be the biggest breakout defensive player of the 2022 season.