By Will Vandervort.

It’s one thing to say a guy can run a 4.3 in the 40-yard dash one time, it is another thing for him to do it 10 straight times.

But that kind of consistency is what Clemson defensive backs coach Mike Reed wants to see from all his players in Clemson’s secondary.

“At least I know exactly what I’m getting every play,” he said. “For any of my defensive backs, consistency is the key because I need guys I can trust on every play. That’s what I want when I say I want more consistency.”

That’s the kind of consistency Reed is looking for from safety Jayron Kearse when fall camp opens up for the Tigers in a couple of weeks. Though Kearse was tied for the team-lead in interceptions last year, he also had a lot of missed assignments and gave up a lot of big plays.

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“He has to become more consistent for my liking,” Reed said.

Reed admitted that’s why Jadar Johnson, who played just 98 snaps a year ago, is pushing Kearse for playing time this fall. Johnson is steady and does not take as many risks as Kearse.

“It is one of those situations where I have a lot of guys to play with which I did not have last year because of the gap in age and experience,” Reed said. “These guys, athletically, can play either side, and I like the competition.”

Last year Kearse was thrown into the fire after Travis Blanks went down with a torn ACL. The freshman started the last two games and had some success, but he also had some bad moments too. He gave up big plays in both games against South Carolina and Ohio State, some for touchdowns.

“He was thrust into playing earlier than I expected,” Reed said. “Yeah, he had the athletic ability to play, but coming from high school to college and playing against the type of competition we played against is very much a mental factor.

“It was up and down for him. He isn’t used to playing 11 or 12 football games.”