Heading into the 2020 season, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney believes the Tigers are in a better spot at the cornerback position than they have been in quite some time.

“It’s a good time to be the corner coach at Clemson,” Swinney said. “Mike Reed has done a great job of building his room. We’ve just got a great group of guys, man. I’m super proud of all of them.”

Swinney praised the cornerback unit as a whole, beginning with Derion Kendrick, a returning starter who is coming off a sophomore season in 2019 during which he recorded 51 tackles (3.0 for loss), six pass breakups and two interceptions (including one returned 38 yards for a touchdown) en route to second-team All-ACC honors.

“DK has had a great camp,” Swinney said. “He’s night and day from what he was last year. He was a good player playing on just sheer athleticism and kind of learning as he went. You’ve got to remember, he played quarterback his whole high school career, came in and played receiver as a freshman, and then boom, we just move him to corner and he’s playing on the biggest stage and really did a nice job. But he’s a more complete player now. I’m really excited about what he’s done, what I’ve seen in camp.”

It remains to be seen who will start at cornerback opposite Kendrick when Clemson opens the season at Wake Forest on Sept. 12.

Junior Mario Goodrich and sophomore Andrew Booth may be the frontrunners to win the starting job, but Swinney is also high on redshirt junior LeAnthony Williams, sophomore Sheridan Jones and true freshmen Malcolm Greene and Fred Davis.

“The rest of those guys, man, we’ve got six other guys that I just love,” Swinney said. “LeAnthony Williams is a guy that maybe hasn’t played as much yet, but I trust him, and I just think he is an incredibly committed kid that has worked his butt off to be able to help this team.

“But there’s no question, those younger guys, they have a high, high end of talent and I can’t say enough about them. Sheridan Jones and Booth, those two guys… Fred and Mario, and Mario’s a guy that has battled some injuries… And then Malcolm Greene is probably as good as we’ve signed.”

Swinney singled out Booth as one of the standouts from Clemson’s scrimmage this past Wednesday, saying he had his best day of practice to that point.

Like Goodrich, Booth has had to deal with injury and missed some time in camp, but he has performed well and been a bright spot when on the field after sitting out the spring as he recovered from a scope of his knee in January.

“Booth, from where he was last year to this year is night and day,” Swinney said. “He’s healthy, he’s strong, he’s so much more knowledgeable, he’s very focused and he’s just confident. So, I’m really proud of him. He did not have a great scrimmage the last time out, but he responded (Wednesday). He really was one of those guys that caught my eye.”

Overall, Swinney loves the talent and depth the Tigers have at cornerback and where they are at the position going into this season.

“I mean, it’s just a really good group,” Swinney said. “Good people, very competitive. We’ve got some guys that we’re going to have some options with. So, we’re in the best place we’ve been in in a long time at corner with that group.”

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