Clemson had two upperclassmen starting in its secondary this season. Both are returning next season.

Sheridan Jones and Jalyn Phillips ended the speculation about their futures Thursday. There was a chance the Tigers were going to have to replace both, but the seniors have decided to use their COVID year to return for a fifth season.

What does that mean for the back end of Clemson’s defense?

First, the Tigers are now in line to return every starter in the secondary. Phillips’ running mate at safety, Andrew Mukuba, is just a sophomore. The same goes for Nate Wiggins, who held down the cornerback spot opposite Jones for most of this season. Unless one (or both) enters the transfer portal later this month or following spring practices, all four will be back next fall.

In fact, should the roster stay where it is until then, the Tigers will return all but one defensive back from the two-deep this season. The lone departure so far is Fred Davis II, who began the season as a starter but was later relegated to rotational snaps after being overtaken by Wiggins on the depth chart.

Even with Davis taking his talents to Central Florida, Clemson still has eight defensive backs on the roster that have started at least one game during their careers. All but one has started multiple games, so the group is heavy on experience.

The Tigers will need to lean on that as they try to cure what was the defense’s biggest ailment this season, pass defense. Clemson ranked 77th nationally in that department. It wasn’t a surprise there was some regression given the departures of all-conference corners Andrew Booth and Mario Goodrich as well as veteran safety Nolan Turner after last season, but, in some cases, the dropoff was drastic.

Clemson allowed just 18 more passing yards per game than it did in 2021, but the explosives were a killer. The Tigers yielded 48 completions of at least 20 yards, 19 more than they gave up a season ago. They also allowed seven pass plays of 40 yards or more, nearly double the number allowed the previous season (4).

Wiggins, one of the rangier corners on Clemson’s roster at 6-foot-2, finished the season with an interception and a team-high 13 pass breakups while Jones had 27 tackles while bouncing in and out of the lineup. Meanwhile, Phillips finished second on the team with 74 tackles and added a pick from his free safety spot.

Having all three on the field together more frequently would help in Clemson’s effort to improve on the back end next season. Jones missed four games this season while battling stingers and later a hip flexor that kept him out of the Orange Bowl. In the first game he missed, which also happened to be the first time Wiggins moved into the starting lineup, Clemson yielded what was then a season-high 337 passing yards in a double-overtime win at Wake Forest in late September.

In the seven games Jones and Wiggins started and finished together, Clemson gave up 208 passing yards on average. In the seven they didn’t? 255. Not every offense the Tigers lined up against was a passing juggernaut – Notre Dame’s run-heavy attack and Miami, playing a true freshman quarterback late in the season, are a couple of examples – but being shorthanded in the secondary at times didn’t help. Mukuba and true freshman Toriano Pride Jr. each had to make spot spots at corner this season because of the attrition.

Mukuba has been cross-training at corner and safety throughout his time at Clemson, but Jones’ return means Mukuba can stay at his most natural position for the time being. That will help as the Tigers try to make strides with what will be one of the ACC’s more seasoned secondaries in 2023.

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