Derion Kendrick Wants to Be Great

Clemson cornerback Derion Kendrick switched sides of the ball in the spring. Now, that change has paid off for him and the Tigers.

CLEMSON — The Clemson Tigers entered the 2019 season with a void at cornerback, which forced the Tigers to try something unique — move a wide receiver to cornerback. And that is exactly what they did, as they moved former wide receiver Derion Kendrick to cornerback in April.

He impressed immediately, recording an interception against the first-team offense in an early spring scrimmage, and in early April, Swinney noted that the presence of Kendrick was a luxury to have a player that could start for the Tigers on either side of the ball.

However, Kendrick has proven to be more than a serviceable corner. He made his defensive debut starting at cornerback versus Georgia Tech, and posted six tackles and a pass breakup versus No. 12 Texas A&M, starting at cornerback versus Georgia Tech and posted six tackles and a pass breakup versus No. 12 Texas A&M. He added a tackle at Syracuse and against Charlotte, contributed two tackles at North Carolina and recorded two tackles and a 38-yard pick-six on his first career interception against Florida State.

 

The pick-six against the Seminoles signaled the culmination of six months of work for the sophomore.

"He's worked really hard. In fact, I really challenged those guys last night, our corners in particular, because those are really good receivers," head coach Dabo Swinney said. "And they were going to take some shots. I thought DK played really well, had great break up downfield on the one. Again, you've got to remember, it's his first year too... he's played six games. Part of it Spring ball. He is an awesome kid. He's really conscientious. He loves to be coached."

Kendrick and safety Nolan Turner team up to break up a pass against Florida State

Not only does Kendrick love to be coached — he loves to be challenged, pushed. He is the anti-Gen Z, 19 year-old. 

He has the passion that has turned him from a wide receiver that was struggling to find playing time to a special talent at cornerback for the No. 2 team in the country.

"He loves to be challenged. That's what I love about DK. He is not a guy that wants to just cruise through," Swinney said. "He wants to be great, and he really has worked hard on it. He studies tape and he accepts the challenge. He's got a lot of confidence and that serves him well, because if you're going to play corner, you're going to go out there and play ... we had to play a lot of man today. We had to get up and we had to press these guys a little bit. I just thought he did a great job, so that's huge for him. That'll be great for his confidence moving forward for sure."