Prior to this year’s season-opener at Auburn, Clemson safety Jadar Johnson was not completely sure of himself.

Sure, he knew he could play football, but was he really the answer the second-ranked Tigers needed to replace Jayron Kearse, who is now playing for the Minnesota Vikings on Sundays.

“I already had a lot of pressure on me,” Johnson said. “I was coming in for a guy who had been a starter since he was a freshman. Playing behind Jayron, not a lot of people knew about me. They would see glimpses of me here or there, but not too many people had the confidence in me that I was going to be able to go in there and be able to hold it down.”

Then with Clemson in front, 13-3, with a little more than nine minutes to play in the third quarter in his first official capacity as a starter, Johnson made a play that lifted up his confidence and propelled him to First-Team All-ACC status.

From the Clemson 36-yard line, Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson threw a pass across the middle towards the Clemson goal line. However, Jadar Johnson came across the coverage, climbed the latter, high pointed the football and made a spectacular interception to end the threat.

“Getting that interception gave me all the confidence to let me know that I can really go out here and help this team win, and I can be one of the premiere players on this defense,” Johnson said. “Ever since that play right there, my confidence has been through the roof.”

Johnson ended up batting down two Hail Mary passes at the end of the game to secure Clemson’s first win at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn since 1951.

The senior ended the season by picking off four more passes to lead the team and rank second in the ACC. He also tallied 50 tackles and broke up seven more passes from his strong safety position.

“That is the way it goes for guys that stick with it,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “Most of the time for young people, in particular in this world that we are living in now, it is an Instagram society. We want things done right now.”

There was a moment when Johnson did as well. Swinney described his senior safety as immature when he first came to Clemson, but not in a bad way.

“He was bigger than he thought,” Swinney said. “He actually came in mid-year and he probably was not ready for that. But his mom and dad did a great job with him. They’re just super people.  And he just kind of hung in there.”

Swinney said Johnson was frustrated that first year as a freshman and his confidence was not high, but the Orangeburg, South Carolina native grew through that and became the player he is today.

“I’m really proud of him. I really am,” the Clemson coach said.  “His mom sent me a text message last week with a picture of his diploma next to her diploma on that mantle back home. That’s what it’s all about, to watch these guys mature and transform.

“Again, if they will just stick with it, sooner or later they will turn the corner.”

And Johnson’s story is a good example of that, and not just for his teammates who are waiting for their turn, but for those back in Orangeburg that look up to him and maybe want to follow in his footsteps.

“A lot of times I go onto the field, I’m really doing it for Orangeburg,” Johnson said. “I want people back home to be proud of me and to see that I’m actually doing something. After the games, I get so many text messages and messages on Facebook from people from Orangeburg just saying they are watching me.

“I really appreciate that. That gives me an extra boost of confidence knowing I have the whole city behind me and everybody is rooting for me. Just knowing I have that support system behind me makes me want to go out there and play even harder.”

Johnson will try to make his hometown proud again when he and the Tigers take on No. 3 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve as part of the College Football Playoff.