While most of the questions about the Clemson Tigers are about the offense, there are still a couple of areas on defense that are not completely solved yet, especially in the secondary.

With the departures of Jadar Johnson and Cordrea Tankersly, the Tigers lose two senior leaders that were very vocal and keys to Clemson’s success in its championship season last year.

Luckily for the Tigers, the have a jack-of-all trades in the secondary that can give the unit a major boost.

Ryan Carter played just about every position in the secondary last year. The senior could be seen sitting back deep in the safety position, in man-to-man coverage at corner or even in the backfield trying to get a sack as the nickel back.

Combine his versatility with his experience and the fact he looks to be the senior leader of the secondary, and Carter could make a name for himself this year if he keeps making big plays.

Carter said after getting a taste of the high of winning the National Championship, the team just needs to get back to the basics.

“Spring is going really well,” he said. “We’re just getting back to the basics of everything.”

With such a young squad around him, he is one of the premier leaders in getting young guys ready for this season.

“Just getting the young guys to start stepping up and the guys that redshirted and didn’t get a lot of action, to try and teach them the basics of this defense,” said Carter. “Just really helping those guys develop.

Carter said he has already seen plenty of development from several young players in the few spring practices the team has had.

“Trayvon Mullen especially… he was a younger guy last year and got a couple of snaps, but he’s been doing really well stepping up with the loss of Cordrea,” said Carter. “Isaiah Simmons, K’Von Wallace, a lot of those young DB’s are playing really well right now.”

Carter has taken ownership of the leadership role this spring, and wants to provide advice to younger players that might feel overwhelmed in their first official spring.

“I try to do my best to take on the leadership role. Just teaching them things that might’ve helped me when I was younger,” he said. “I’m trying to to do my best with trying to make Isaiah not feel too overwhelmed because we’re all gonna make mistakes, it’s a part of the game.”

Even with his new leadership role, Carter still has areas he would like to improve in.

“It really wasn’t that much of an offseason for me, but just trying to get more field recognition and pre-snap formations,” he said. “I’m staying sharp and just trying to lead the young guys.”

Going into this senior season, there are many special things Carter is looking forward to, but maybe none more than the fact he gets to play for his old high school coach Mickey Conn, again.

“It’s a little unreal for me. I love it, he’s my guy,” said Carter. “He’s helped me get to where I am today. I have the utmost respect for him and I’m so glad that he’s here, especially for my last year.”

Carter said he cannot believe it is already his last spring practice as a Clemson Tiger and will always look back fondly on his time with the program.

“It went so fast, but I’ve enjoyed every part of it, the good and the bad,” he said. “It’s definitely a surreal feel knowing that it’s my last time out here.”