Clemson cornerback Jeadyn Lukus is in a “great space” heading into his senior season, according to cornerbacks coach Mike Reed.

As Reed put it when discussing Lukus during Clemson Football’s Media Outing last week, “the J-Lu of a year ago is a totally different J-Lu than he is now.”

“Mature. He has that smile. He’s bouncing around. He’s eager to go out and play,” Reed said. “He understands that this is his last hoorah, so to speak, at Clemson. So, he wants to go out with a [bang].”

Lukus, a former five-star prospect from Mauldin (S.C.) High School, has battled injuries and experienced up-and-down playing time over the past three seasons after arriving to Clemson as a top-30 national prospect in January 2022.

“For him, the transition was a little bit different. The level of play was a lot different,” Reed said. “But he’s healthy, smiling, he’s bouncing around. So, I’m looking forward to seeing his play during [fall] camp.”

Lukus played in all 14 games last year, but he was once again slowed by the same nagging shoulder injuries that that plagued him before. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder finished the 2024 season credited with 33 tackles (1.5 for loss), an interception and eight pass breakups.

“He had a nagging injury, and to his credit, he toughed it out, where a lot of young men would’ve probably shut it down and transferred or did whatever. He stuck it out,” Reed said. “He’s a tough kid, great kid, great family, and he loves Clemson. He’s excited. I want it for him.”

Lukus started 10 games last season, but lost his starting spot to then-freshman cornerback Ashton Hampton late in the year.

So, in today’s landscape with the transfer portal, what does it say about Lukus’s mentality that even though things didn’t go his way a year ago, he decided to return for his senior campaign with the Tigers?

“You like it in this day and age where kids are just jumping in the portal and running from competition,” Reed said. “He’s a young man that he has a good self-awareness, and he understands what he needs to do to get better. It’s been proven – you don’t always have to be a starter to play in the NFL.

“Years previously, we had a young man, Mark Fields, that played two years in the NFL, and he didn’t start a game here at Clemson. So, you control your own destiny, and for [Lukus], it was great to see that because it shows a sign of maturity.”

Lukus heads into the 2025 season having logged 49 tackles (2.5 for loss), 11 pass breakups and two interceptions in 808 career defensive snaps across 32 games (14 starts).

A former Shrine Bowl selection for South Carolina who was also selected to the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando, Lukus had 97 tackles in the last three years of his prep career, despite playing just 23 games due to the pandemic. He posted eight tackles for loss and four interceptions to go with 17 passes deflected, and he had 74 career solo tackles.

Reed has been by Lukus’s side while he has faced adversity during his time at Clemson, following a high school career where everything went so well for him.

Reed says Lukus has benefited from the challenges he’s gone through, and now he’s looking to finish his Clemson career with a flourish in 2025.

“For any young kid, it’s different, and sometimes you have to walk them through. And the fact that I’ve been in a similar situation as he has in my career, so it’s easy to relate to,” Reed said. “It’s been difficult, but it’s a growing process, and I think he’s come out on the other side and he’s a better man.”