Clemson’s cornerback room is loaded with talent and plenty of quality depth.

The cornerback position should be a strength on the back end of Clemson’s defense, and it’s a big reason why the Tigers’ secondary has a chance to be one of the nation’s best in 2025.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently ranked the top 10 secondaries in college football entering the upcoming season, and Clemson’s secondary landed in the top five, coming in at No. 4 on the list.

After being fairly young at corner last season, the Tigers return a ton of experience in 2025. Avieon Terrell returns for his junior season after having logged nearly 1,200 snaps across his first two years. Ashton Hampton will also be back and one year wiser. Hampton played more than 450 snaps as a freshman and gives the Tigers another player with the capability of developing into a corner that can lock down one side of the field.

Shelton Lewis is another player with a lot of experience but did spend a lot of time in the nickel a season ago. The rising junior missed four games last season with injuries. Jeadyn Lukus, a rising senior, will be the elder statesman in the room. Lukus was plagued by injury his first two seasons, but appeared in all 14 games, including 10 starts, in 2024.

The Tigers also have two highly rated recruits who signed as part of the 2024 class and redshirted last season. One of those players, former four-star Corian Gipson, is a name to watch in 2025. Another is former four-star Tavoy Feagin, who’s known as “the seatbelt” in high school due to his coverage skills.

Here’s what PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote about the Tigers’ group of corners and their secondary overall heading into 2025:

The Tigers find themselves in the top five of this list thanks to their impressive group of corners. It starts with Avieon Terrell, PFF’s No. 4 cornerback in the FBS. The younger brother of Atlanta Falcons star A.J. Terrell placed fourth among all cornerbacks with a 90.7 run-defense grade this past season, while his three forced fumbles tied for second. He’s still excellent in coverage as well, leading all Power Four corners with 14 forced incompletions in 2024.

Opposite of Terrell is Ashton Hampton, who’s coming off a very strong true freshman campaign. His 45.7 passer rating allowed last year was eighth among Power Four corners. Slot corner Khalil Barnes had a bit of a sophomore slump (61.1 PFF grade) but only Caleb Downs was a more valuable true freshman safety than him in 2023, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. Clemson also returns senior corner Jeadyn Lukus, who started last season.

The Tigers are more uncertain at safety, but Kylon Griffin played 376 snaps a year ago while Ricardo Jones had a 70.2 grade on 147 snaps as a true freshman.

Texas is at the top of PFF’s secondary rankings, while Alabama came in second, followed by Notre Dame at No. 3. Ohio State rounds out the top five behind Clemson.

Duke, which will travel to play Clemson on Nov. 1 at Death Valley, made the list as the eighth-best secondary.

As for PFF’s other position group rankings entering the 2025 season, Clemson’s defensive line is ranked No. 1 nationally, while the Tigers’ receiver corps is No. 3 and the quarterback room is No. 5. Clemson’s offensive line is ranked No. 10, and the Tigers’ linebacker unit is ranked No. 9.