Clemson defender says dominant effort showed everybody what the Tigers are ‘really about’

Avieon Terrell totaled a career-best four pass breakups, all in one half, versus App State.

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Sunday, September 08 2024

CLEMSON— All of the top statistical marks didn’t come just on offense in Clemson’s dominant 66-20 win over Appalachian State.

Terrell and the rest of Clemson’s defensive starters were able to sit at the half after a 56-13 start through two quarters.

“It was fun to get a dub in the Valley. It felt good,” sophomore cornerback Avieon Terrell said. “It gives us a lot of confidence, just bouncing back off a tough loss, and then we get a week off. So, we get two weeks to prepare. So, it gives us a lot of confidence.”

Terrell is starting off the season strong. He had five tackles against the Bulldogs in the season opener, his second highest in a game thus far in his collegiate career. In front of the home crowd against the Mountaineers, he recorded two tackles and had a career-high in passes defended with four (one shy of Perry Williams’ school record set in 1985).

His performance was not all that surprising given his legacy - being the younger brother of former Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell. However, the drastic change in the offense was not expected outside of the locker room.

The 35 points they scored in the first quarter are the most scored in any quarter under head coach Dabo Swinney, and the most points Clemson has ever scored in a first quarter. Despite the historic significance of this performance, Terrell “wasn’t surprised at all, not one bit” by how the offense played.

“We (preached) about that all week, just make plays (in the) first half so all the young bulls could get in and make plays. So, it felt good seeing them all out there,” Terrell said. “We needed it (a) bit so we can show people what Clemson (is) really about. So, it was clutch just having a good game like this.”

In total, 105 players had the chance to play in this game for the Tigers. One of those players was true freshman safety Ricardo Jones who caught his first collegiate interception at the Clemson five-yard line to prevent Appalachian State from scoring. That was also the first interception for the Tiger defense this season.

“It was (good) seeing (Ricardo) get a pick. He (is) a very passionate safety,” Terrell said. “He was talking about it all week. So, seeing that happen and, he (was) the first one to get us a turnover. So, it was good.”

The second interception of the season for Clemson came from redshirt sophomore walk-on defensive end Levi Matthews. Prior to this game, he had only played in two games for the Tigers.

Clemson will have its first bye week of the season before taking on No. 24 NC State on Saturday, Sept. 21. The Wolfpack won their first game but dropped their first game of the season against No. 14 Tennessee in a 51-10 blowout. They will have the chance to rebound against LA Tech next week before taking on the Tigers.

However, Clemson will be without graduate safety Tyler Venables for the first half after he was called for targeting during the second half of the Tigers’ win over Appalachian State. Venables will be able to play in the second half against NC State.