Swinney Cross-Training Safeties to Help Cornerback Room

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is using excess talent in the safety room to help slim cornerback numbers.

Cornerback depth will be an ongoing situation to monitor for Dabo Swinney and Clemson heading into fall camp. 

Help in nickel and dime packages will put most of the Tigers' scholarship corners onto the field, and Swinney tells Clemson SI excess safety depth will be a key factor in ensuring there's minimal worry there to start the season.

"Might have one or two of them cross train a little bit because we don't have as much depth at corner," Swinney told Clemson SI. "We got six good guys but you know it maybe gives us a seventh, eighth guy just to merge with the corners in case we get in a bind. But it's a good group."

Sixth-year senior Nolan Turner is locked to anchor Clemson's backend even after showing he could work on his ability as a deep zone defender against teams like Ohio State. When asked about the safety group, Swinney reiterated he was and remains "a coach on the field" for the Tigers.

Experience will carry Turner, but Swinney told All Clemson all major snap getters besides Turner last season, Lannden Zanders, Joseph Charleston, and Ray Thornton III, have progressed incredibly well in their third years. All three can contribute and benefit from nickel snaps, even thinking long-term in NFL scout's eyes for versatility alone. More than anything it helps the Tigers in a spot where they need depth immediately.

All those guys have progressed," Swinney told All Clemson. "I mean, you got Ray Thornton, he's a redshirt sophomore, you've got Lannden now with a couple of years of experience under his belt, Charleston, a couple of years. Jalyn Phillips, you know Tyler Venables is gonna be a redshirt freshman. He kind of got a free year last year because last year didn't count. Same thing with R.J. (Mickens), and you get a young guy like (Andrew) Mukuba in here. We just got a really, really good group. So I'm excited about what they've got the chance to do this year."