This time last year, Clemson cornerback Cordrea Tankersley was thinking about forgoing his senior year at Clemson and entering the NFL Draft.

Fortunately for Clemson he decided to come back to school, and things have worked out for both he and the second-ranked Tigers.

Clemson is back in the College Football Playoff for a second straight year, and will play No. 3 Ohio State in a semifinal game at the Fiesta Bowl, while Tankersley has had an All-American season as he leads the Tigers with 10 passes broken up and three interceptions.

“It’s the best decision I made,” the senior said earlier this week. “It was a hard decision. I made my mind on leaving, but I just felt incomplete. I felt like I wanted to finish. So just to come back and hopefully cap off winning the National Championship and also get my degree in the spring, I can’t ask for a better comeback.”

Q: And do you think you’ve helped yourself in terms of the NFL?

Tankersley: “Yes sir I think I kind of solidified myself that I’m a good player. That last year wasn’t a makeup season. I came back this year and I think I had a better season. I think I’m prepared now.”

Q: Kind of right along the lines of finishing the defensive backs kind of shoulder a lot of the blame in the National Championship last year. Do you guys feel like this may be your redemption game for you guys?

Tankersley: “Yeah I feel like we have a lot of anger built up. Like I said those guys in the secondary 3 of them and only 1 is coming back so we got 3 new faces who hasn’t kind of grasped what it felt like but just watching it from the sidelines they just came in with a chip on their shoulder this year and they don’t want that to happen this year. So I think the main thing is just finishing and sprinting through that line.”

Q: Do you think back to last year and the feeling you guys felt when you walked out of University of Phoenix Stadium and wanting to leave with a different result this year?

Tankersley: “That was the worst feeling. I never went to the championship in high school. I went to semis but just losing in the game nobody remembers that we went 14-0. Everybody just remembers that we lost to Alabama in the National Championship so I think just going back and finishing that’s the main thing.”

Q: What has Jadar (Johnson) brought to the table this year? He seems like he’s more focused and you guys as a whole seem like it’s a team thing then playing for NFL positions.

Tankersley: “Jadar is just that guy. He brings it that fun, that leadership, and he’s a great football player. Jadar could’ve played last year. Jadar could’ve played his sophomore year. He had the will in front of other great players but just to have him back there, roaming the field, you can’t ask for a better safety. He’s brought so much to this team, knowledge for the game and also just graduating, I couldn’t ask for a better teammate.”

Q: Knowing that you guys are about to move on, have you kind of taken some of those other guys under your wing to instill that this is the way we do things at Clemson?

Tankersley: “Yes of course. I would say about this team is that they are very mature so they kind of know. They see it one time and they react to it. So we really don’t have to just keep spanking them, just keep pinching them, making sure they have to do this or do this a certain way. They kind of figure out on their own and I think that’s what makes us a good team.”

Q: Looking back to the last play of the ACC Championship what’s going through your mind when you make that interception?

Tankersley: “I got to make a play. In my mindset I’m always thinking the ball is coming my way. So to see the ball coming my way I was just like, ‘Yes. Make the play. Go finish. Catch the ball. And win the game for the team.’”

Q: How big is it for you guys on defense knowing that you’ve made those plays all season and really the last two years when the game is on the line and you have to make a play?

Tankersley: “It shows the integrity of our team. Like I said we practice for moments like this. We always do two meetings with our offense to be prepared so we like to you know dominate and finish those games but just be prepared for that moment. It’s just breathtaking so we know what to do.”