RJ Mickens sees issue with targeting rules, focused on impact when he can play UNC

RJ Mickens had a key interception in the end zone against South Carolina in the first half.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Wed Nov 30 12:44:03 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON - Things were going relatively well early for the Tigers against the Gamecocks on Saturday. Their defense scored a touchdown on a pick-six, as well as a safety, and junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei rushed for his seventh touchdown of the season.

With a 30-28 lead late in the third quarter, however, Clemson lost junior safety RJ Mickens, who also had an interception in the game, to a targeting penalty. Not only was he ejected from the game, but he will be missing the first half of Clemson’s ACC Championship game against North Carolina on Saturday (8 p.m./ABC). While Mickens acknowledges that he did commit a penalty, he expressed frustration with the targeting rule in general.

“Personally, I don’t like that rule. I just feel like offensive players shouldn’t be able to lower their head with no consequences,” Mickens said. “I definitely lowered my head and it was the right call, but it was tough to watch my team go out there and not being able to help them.”

He said that it is unfortunate the way the penalty is but, “hopefully, it gets changed.” However, this is unlikely to occur anytime soon, particularly because the NCAA just adjusted the rules for targeting penalties. The NCAA published the official rule change back in April.

The ejection was not the only hard thing about that game, the loss to the rival Gamecocks snapping a seven-game win streak was also a tough pill to swallow for the whole defense.

“It’s hard to flush a loss like that, especially a rivalry game,” Mickens said. “But, we just have to move forward, take it with a grain of salt, and just get better and learn from it.”

He said that his father, Ray Mickens, who played in the NFL with the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and New England Patriots for ten years as a cornerback, taught him valuable lessons about taking things one game at a time.

“You always have to have a next-play mentality, no matter what happened the play before. You always got to focus on the next play and reset, have a short-term memory. A lot of good things are going to happen, a lot of bad things are going to happen, but it’s all about what happened the last play,” Mickens said. “Study your opponent, know what they are going to do so you can play faster. I feel like that’s a big part of my game.”

He is currently studying North Carolina, particularly its redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye, who was in the running for the Heisman this season. He is leading the NCAA in total yards with 4,476 yards. This is in large part to his dynamic ability as an accurate passer (first in the ACC in completion percentage) as well as his running ability. In fact, he is leading the Tar Heels in rushing yards with 629. Overall, North Carolina will be a challenge for the Clemson defense as a whole.

“They’re really good. They have playmakers all around. They’ve got a great quarterback, great receivers, (and) running backs,” Mickens said. “We just have to come out ready and just prepare with a purpose and forget about the last game.”

If Clemson wins against the Tar Heels, they will be playing in the Orange Bowl, most likely going against Tennessee. The Orange Bowl is at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30 at 8 p.m on ESPN.