Last season, things did not go the way Andrew Booth hoped they would in his first year at Clemson.

Expectations were high entering 2019 for the former five-star cornerback from Dacula, Ga., but he logged only six tackles and one pass breakup in 65 defensive snaps over 13 games while struggling from both a physical and mental standpoint.

Booth was still bothered by a knee injury that he sustained while at Archer High School, and that was a big reason he wasn’t able to perform up to the high level he knows he is capable of playing at.

“It definitely took a huge toll, just not being able to move how I used to,” Booth said. “It just feels like your swag is gone, out there just playing naked.”

Booth had to undergo treatment on a daily basis last season, and it certainly wasn’t easy, though he kept a positive mindset and stayed motivated with the goal of getting back on the field sooner than later.

“(Director of sports medicine/head athletic trainer) Danny (Poole), they’re real strict on treatment, so I was in there every morning at 6:30 getting it in two times a day every day,” Booth said. “So, just stack the good days, kept getting it strong. There wasn’t any timeline. The harder I worked, the faster I could come back.”

Fast forward to this fall, following offseason surgery, and Booth has been one of the bright spots of Clemson’s preseason camp now that he is fully healthy again.

Booth missed two or three practices due to a separate injury, but when on the field, the former consensus top-50 national prospect has put his talent on full display, flashed his potential and exhibited the type of impact player he can be for the Tigers at cornerback.

“Now, I’m healthy, so I’m able to fly around and actually show my teammates and coaches what I really have and my athleticism,” he said. “So, it’s been great.”

Head coach Dabo 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.

“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.”

Booth, too, feels like a much different player than he was when he arrived on campus last summer – not only physically with his knee injury behind him, but in terms of his knowledge and confidence as well.

“Really getting to learn the playbook, knowing where my help is around me,” Booth said of the areas of his game in which he has grown the most. “The biggest thing is just confidence – just having courage, confidence, just believing in the gifts that God has given me and being healthy.”

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