Clemson Looking for Big Step From Booth

Clemson sophomore cornerback Andrew Booth didn't redshirt last year because the coaching staff believed he needed to learn mentally by doing. They're hoping it pays off in a heated cornerback position battle in 2020.

Clemson’s coaching staff spent a “millisecond” discussing if they were going to redshirt Andrew Booth during his freshman season.

The 5-star cornerback from Lawrenceville, Ga., wasn’t necessarily a player of need last fall, nor did he produce much in terms of numbers, but instead of using the four-game redshirt rule to save him a year of eligibility, head coach Dabo Swinney saw 2019 as a way to get Booth ready for what’s to come in his career.

“We just felt like whatever experience he got was going to help him mentally,” Swinney said.

For Booth, being involved in meetings and gaining knowledge through practice reps every day instead of playing the redshirt candidate game meant he could grow at the pace the coaches could control.

“He could do all that and could go play,” Swinney said.

On the field, Booth was credited with six tackles in 65 snaps played. That’s just five plays per game last season.

He also helped on special teams, where he was ejected during the Louisville game for throwing a punch during a punt return and had to ride the bus home as punishment.

“Andrew is a great kid and comes from a great family,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said last October. That is not who he is. He lost his mind temporarily and he will have to suffer the consequences.”

That was part of the year of learning for Booth, who will be asked to do much more in 2020. He’ll be battling for the vacant cornerback spot left behind by A.J. Terrell opposite Derion Kendrick this summer.

Junior Mario Goodrich and sophomore Sheridan Jones also have their eyes on that job. Junior LeAnthony Williams and freshman Fred Davis III are also looking for playing time.

In a shortened spring practice, Booth wasn’t able to really push for a starting role because he had to get a knee “cleaned up” stemming from a high school injury and was limited through Clemson's nine practices.

Goodrich was slowed too by injury and had a post-spring procedure himself. The Kansas City, Mo., native didn’t return to the team June 1 because he was finishing up therapy, Swinney said last week, but is expected back June 8.

Will that give Booth, if he’s 100 percent healthy, a lead on that position? Maybe so. Swinney said they were precautious with Booth early in the spring and hoping to ramp him up more before the shutdown.

But he still found a way to impress Swinney in a green non-contact jersey and put himself in position to take a huge step forward as a sophomore.

“I’m just really encouraged in what I’m seeing out of him in terms of his understanding, how he’s moving, his alignments and understanding leverage,” Swinney said. “He looks great. He feels good. Hopefully, that will transition well for him.”