CLEMSON — Clemson’s secondary received an extreme makeover through the transfer portal.

Having lost starting corner Avieon Terrell to the NFL Draft, and starting safeties Khalil Barnes and Ricardo Jones to the transfer portal, the Tigers had several holes on the backend that needed to be filled.

Over the first few days of the portal window, Clemson was extremely active in filling those holes, adding four key pieces to the secondary fairly quickly. Two at safety and two at cornerback, with head coach Dabo Swinney noting the staff hit on their top targets.

“We got our top two safeties,” Swinney said. “We went after these two guys, and we got both of them. Jerome Carter from ODU and Corey Myrick from Southern Miss. Both are juniors. These guys are long and they can run.”

Carter finished tied for second in the FBS with six interceptions in 2025 and was an all-conference selection. Over his two years with the Monarchs, he appeared in 25 games, totaling 98 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and three pass breakups, along with the six picks.

Myrick totaled 91 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions last season. He was also an all-conference honoree. Both players have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

“They are both all-conference players,” Swinney added. “These are really good football players. They really fit and align with who we are.”

The Tigers also got better at corner, adding Elliot Washington and Donovan Starr. Spending his first three seasons at Penn State, Washington played under defensive coordinator Tom Allen in 2024. Last season, he appeared in 12 games, totaling 18 tackles, an interception and three pass breakups.

For those who follow Clemson recruiting, Starr should be a familiar name. Clemson recruited him hard coming out of high school. He even attended the big official visit weekend in June of 2024.

However, the Tigers would end up taking a commitment from four-star Graceson Littleton, with Starr ending up at Auburn. Littleton would ultimately decommit, leaving Clemson with no corner take in the 2025 recruiting class.

With the coaching change at Auburn, Starr felt like now was the time to make a move. The former four-star recruit appeared in nine games as a reserve in his debut season at Auburn, with a lot of his time coming on special teams.

‘We needed a little more speed,” Swinney said. “We went and got our top two guys at corner, Elliot Washington, who is a 4.3 guy, a senior from Penn State. Then we got Donovan Starr, who honestly would have come here out of high school, but we took a young man, and he went to Auburn. Then that kid decommitted, and it was too late to get Donovan. Obviously, they made a change at Auburn, the timing was right, and Donovan came over here.”

No matter how you slice it, Clemson appears to be improved in the secondary after the pass defense was a weak link in 2025.

“Those four guys — we got some speed, some length and size and athleticism,” Swinney said.

Photo by Bart Boatwright