Tankersley "ready to put on that orange uniform"

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Apr 24 18:53:42 GMT-04:00 2013

Cordrea Tankersley finally got the good news he has been waiting on Wednesday morning.

The 4-star defensive back out of Silver Bluff High School and Hargrave Military Academy has had to wait almost a year for the chance to put on a Clemson uniform, and he learned early Wednesday that his ACT score has been accepted by the NCAA Clearinghouse.

Tankersley, who will play strong safety for the Tigers, will enroll at Clemson on May 12th and begin classes on May 15th.

“My dad took the day off of work, and we set up the laptop and said we would wake up this morning and check the NCAA website,” Tankersley told TigerNet Wednesday afternoon. “It was messing up at first, and I finally saw the good news on my phone.”

He said he almost jumped through the roof when he saw that he had been cleared.

“I just couldn’t believe it, because it’s been such a long time and there has been a lot of hard work,” he said. “This is what I have been waiting on since I committed to Clemson last year. Finally, it is on paper and I am finally qualified. I am at my highest peak right now and my adrenaline is rushing. I know that I am going to get to put on that orange uniform, and I couldn’t ask for a better thing. I am ready to go out and compete and get my academics in order and become a better athlete and a better human being overall.”

Once father and son received the news, they started calling all of the important parties.

“My mom had to work today, and my dad wound up calling up my mom,” Tankersley said. “Then I called [secondary coach Mike] Coach Reed. He is out on the road recruiting. He was happy. And we talked to Coach Swinney, and he told me that I can take my situation and how I didn’t give up and use it as a blessing. He told me that it was the sign of a winner because I never gave up.”

Tankersley said he also had to call his tutor, Errol Thomas, who was a big part of his getting qualified.

“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to have this day,” he said. “He has been with me and helped me every day.”

During his one season at Hargrave, Tankersley had 36 tackles, two interceptions, an interception he returned for a touchdown and eight pass breakups. On the offensive side of the ball, he caught 30 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns.

His head coach at Hargrave, Troy Davis, told TigerNet he couldn’t have asked for a better player.

“I can’t say enough about him,” Davis said of the 6-2, 200-pounder. “He came in and bought into the corner spot and made progress with it. When all is said and done, he could be like Jonathan Meeks and move back to free safety.”

Davis said that Tankersley improved his coverage skills by playing corner for Hargrave.

“Playing corner is something he had to work at,” he said. “He had to get better rotation in his hips, and he had to really learn how to play corner. The last game, I moved him back to the safety spot, but his athleticism and his letting me play him at corner allowed me to use some other guys at other spots.”