First, it was A.J. Terrell and Derion Kendrick. Then it was Andrew Booth and Mario Goodrich.
Nearly four years later, Sheridan Jones’ wait may be over.
“There’s a time for everything,” Clemson’s rising senior cornerback said.
While his position coach, Mike Reed, insisted nothing has been decided when it comes to which corners will take the field first next season — Clemson’s opener against Georgia Tech is still more than five months away after all — it would be a surprise if Jones isn’t one of them. With Booth and Goodrich on their way to the NFL, Jones is easily the most experienced corner left on the roster after biding his time behind some of the ACC’s best at the position the last few years.
Jones also suddenly finds himself as the elder statesmen in the cornerback room. Not only is the 6-foot, 185-pounder the only corner that’s started a game on the outside for the Tigers, but Jones is also the only player at the position that’s spent more than two full years in the program at this point.
Fred Davis and Malcolm Greene, who mans the nickel spot when healthy, are the next-oldest corners on Clemson’s roster as rising juniors. Nate Wiggins is coming off a true freshman season in which he played in 11 games. Clemson’s only other three scholarship corners – Toriano Pride, Jeadyn Lukus and Myles Oliver – were part of the Tigers’ 2022 recruiting class and have yet to play a down of college football.
Which is why Clemson needs more from Jones than what he can do on the field, something Reed said he’s made his most mature corner keenly aware of. Specifically, Reed said he’s asked Jones to be more vocal with his teammates.
“I understand not everybody is a vocal leader, but for me, I’ve got to push buttons,” Reed said. “It’s like they say with a rubber band: You never know how strong a rubber band is until you pull it, right? I’m going to pull that rubber band. So I’m going to ask him to do more. It’s part of being here. He’s been through the ringer, so it’s now, hey, let’s bring those other guys with us. You’re only as good as your weakest link, so we’ve got to pull other guys with us.”
Jones admitted that’s somewhat outside of his comfort zone. He’s more of the lead-by-example type, he said, but Jones also knew that needed to change since everybody else in the cornerback room was going to be looking to him for guidance.
Jones has gradually grown more comfortable with it as he’s gotten older, but he said he’s focused on becoming a vocal leader “definitely now more than ever.” Jones said that process began with offseason workouts.
“As far as sending people back as far as mat drills and stuff like that, I wasn’t really the guy to speak up,” Jones said. “But I feel like when you’re the older guy in the room, you’ve got to be that guy. You’ve got to set the tone for everybody else and let them know what’s right from wrong and what should we be doing more and what should we be doing less? That’s one thing I really just wanted to make sure I did.”
On the field, Jones has let his play do most of his talking, though it hasn’t always been loud. Jones’ most significant role to this point came as a sophomore in 2020 when he started eight games and notched his first career interception, but Clemson coach Dabo Swinney opined Jones lost his confidence toward the end of that season before recapturing it last year.
Jones didn’t necessarily agree with Swinney’s assessment. He said he simply didn’t feel like himself after an injury kept him from performing to his maximum capability near the end of the 2020 season, which led to plenty of negative noise that Jones let creep in mentally.
“I just had to get back to being me,” Jones said. “Having fun back on the field, making plays and just worrying about myself. Not worrying about what anybody else is saying – coaches, fans, players, anybody.”
As Clemson’s No. 3 corner last season, Jones played in all 13 games and made three spot starts when injuries hit the position, finishing with four pass breakups and a pick. He’s heading into his senior season with 52 tackles, eight pass breakups and two interceptions in 38 career games, but Reed said he also wants to see Jones trust his instincts more as the most seasoned player Clemson has at the position.
“A lot of times with younger kids, they don’t believe what they see,” Reed said. “They second guess. Whereas an old guy, you’ve already seen it, so let’s go. Don’t hesitate. Believe in what you see and go get it.”
But if Clemson’s secondary is going to continue doing its part to help a defense that finished in the top 10 nationally in yards and points allowed last season, Jones knows he can’t do it by himself. It’s why he’s making it a point to tell his position group the ropes as much as he wants to show them.
“I’m trying to make sure I open up and tell them do this and make sure you don’t do that,” Jones said. “Basically putting them under my wing and putting everybody in the best position possible to be successful.”
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