Freshmen Cornerbacks Will Have Plenty of Opportunities This Spring
CLEMSON, S.C.- Andrew Booth Jr. and Mario Goodrich are both headed to the NFL, and with the start of spring practice, the Tigers now begin the process of having to replace two first-team All-ACC cornerbacks.
Blue-chip prospects Toriano Pride and Jeadyn Lukus are already on campus as early enrollees and with Malcolm Greene still out recovering from an injury sustained last year, both freshmen will have opportunities this spring.
"A lot of opportunities," Dabo Swinney said before the start of spring practice. "Got Toriano here, we got Jeadyn here. So there's a lot of opportunity for that group because Malcolm is out. When Myles Oliver gets here this summer, we'll have seven guys. I think it's a really, really talented group that can be developed to play at a high level."
However, while the two true freshmen should see plenty of action this spring, it all starts with the veterans and Swinney really likes what the Tigers have at the top of the depth chart with senior Sheridan Jones, sophomore Nate Wiggins and junior Fred Davis II, along with the junior, Greene, who will be back at some point.
"It's gonna start with Sheridan for sure," Swinney said. "Sheridan... and Nate has had a really good offseason. I really like how he finished the year. And then Fred. That's kind of the three I think where it will start, then we'll get Malcolm back. That's our vets."
Andrew Mukuba is another player the coaches can use at corner, and once freshman Myles Oliver arrives in the summer, Swinney is confident that his team has the talent in place to ease the losses of both Booth and Goodrich on the backend of the defense.
"You throw in Toriano, you throw in Jeadyn, you got Myles coming in, I think we're gonna have a really good group of personnel there to work with," Swinney said. Mukuba is another guy that will play some corner."
Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw, recruiting analyst Jason Priester and staff writer Will Vandervort on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today!