CLEMSON — With Shelton Lewis deciding to leave the Clemson program in an effort to preserve a year of eligibility and enter the transfer portal after the season, Clemson needs someone to step up and fill the void he leaves at the nickel position.
Tink Kelley won the job in the fall, leaving Lewis as his backup over the first four games, and now that he’s gone, redshirt freshman Corian Gipson has been thrust into the role as a backup to Kelley.
Gipson had been working at corner, but with players like Avieon Terrell, Ashton Hampton and Jeadyn Lukus ahead of him on the depth chart, he hadn’t seen a lot of time on the field, until he logged 16 snaps and recorded a tackle in the blowout win over North Carolina.
“He has accepted the challenge,” cornerbacks coach Mike Reed said. “That is one thing about Corian, he is a fighter. He is going to give you everything he has got.”
Making the move from corner to nickel isn’t always a smooth transition, seeing as the nickel has to be a corner, linebacker and safety all rolled into one.
“He wants to compete, he wants to be out there,” Reed added. “And I like it. It’s good. Now the kid is learning even more ball from a different perspective by being the nickel. And he is going to have to help us.”
Gipson redshirted last season due to an injury that hampered his progress. He only played 14 snaps all season. However, he was a big-time recruit coming out of high school, with three of the major recruiting services ranking him inside the Top 100 players in his class. He was a consensus four-star talent, and the Tigers beat out Texas for his services.
While his path to the field was filled with some obstacles, the Tigers are now going to need him to step up when his number is called, and Reed believes the young defensive back has all of the tools a player needs to be successful playing in the nickel.
“He is physical, he is strong,” Reed said. “If this kid puts his hands on you, literally, it is going to hurt. We don’t do drills with him. He can tackle, he is fast, he is smart. He’s got it all.”
Photo by Bart Boatwright