Mike Reed thinks Clemson cornerback group is his deepest

Avieon Terrell is a leader in a deep cornerback group for the Tigers.

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Monday, September 16 2024

Mike Reed knows a good cornerback when he sees one.

When looking inside his defensive back room, his eyes tell him he has nine at his disposal.

In his years with Clemson alone, he’s developed plenty of special talents to have incredibly successful careers.

Whether you look at A.J. Terrell, who is currently being paid like a top corner in the NFL. You can also set your eyes on players like Mackensie Alexander, who had his fair share of all-conference honors.

Fast-forward to 2024, and the talent was evident. As the steps to the Georgia matchup got closer, concerns about the position's depth were raised.

Corners Jeadyn Lukus and Avieon Terrell slowly calmed worries, but if you ask Reed, he had confidence that his room would be just fine.

He stood on the podium fresh from an impressive showing against App State. He saw his players get challenged by Georgia but put together a response that this team was more than capable of pushing forward.

Considering some of his starters were at risk of not playing early in the season, Reed has had the response to a question that’s been answered early in 2024—is this his deepest group?

“It's crazy that you asked that because I mean, I say that because when I used to coach all 20 of them, that was deep,” Reed said. “So now when I'm coaching, I guess nine of them, I would say yes. And from that aspect, from just a sheer cornerback standpoint, I would say yes, guys, I can put in the game and feel comfortable about going and doing the job.”

Reed has seen his guys battle for playing time throughout fall camp and feels he’s seen the fruits of his defensive backs’ labor paying off thus far.

His room has experienced healthy competition, and two games in, its standard has been met.

“It does something for those young men because everybody comes out here, and they want to play, and they practice hard, and it's like they deserve to play, so let's play them,” Reed said. “And on the other side, as a coach, guys are one play away from playing. So you have a guy that goes down for injury; you don't want the guy replacing him to never have played before. So when you give him that valuable time in the game, now he gets to build his confidence up so that when it comes to his time to go out and perform, he's performing at a high level because you don't want guys, as we say, we want guys to play to the standard and the standard is your best.”

When looking at his position group, it isn’t just their talents that stand out to the Clemson assistant head coach.

Reed also sees an incredibly connected group, one that is full of leadership.

“Well, it's been very evident through camp, and last spring is the leadership over these young men,” Reed said. “We have some great leaders. We have a team that actually loves each other, and loves to be around each other. When you have that in the equation, you have success, and it's good to see it. As I always say, if football was like life, we'd be in a better place, especially with a team like this where you see love guys caring for each other, hugging each other, hanging out with each other, not just in the facility but outside the Reeves Center.”

We’ve heard about the offense's connectivity, most specifically from players like Cade Klubnik and Tristan Leigh. Heading into conference play, Reed provided perspective from his side of the ball.

The Tiger defense will continue to face some tests, starting with rival North Carolina State (noon/ABC).

Reed knows he has the guys to compete at every moment, and the Wolfpack can certainly give the group another opportunity to grow.