Tag: Derion Kendrick

Georgia football player card: DB Derion Kendrick

Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Derion Kendrick is projected to start as the No. 1 cornerback in Dan Lanning’s defensive scheme this season

Derion Kendrick, Defensive Back (No. 11):

Class: Senior

Height: 6-0

Weight: 190 pounds

Hometown: Rock Hill, South Carolina

High School: South Pointe High School

Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Derion Kendrick is projected to start as the No. 1 cornerback in Dan Lanning’s defensive scheme this season. Kendrick transferred to Georgia from Clemson this offseason. He will face his former team to open the season.

Kendrick is a former five-star recruit who began his college football career at wide receiver. Kendrick transitioned to cornerback as a sophomore.

Nov. 16, 2019; Clemson, South Carolina; Clemson Tigers Derion Kendrick (1) returns the ball during the first half of the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia started Ameer Speed and Jalen Kimber in the spring game, but the secondary will look much different to open the season.

Kirby Smart brought in more competition at defensive back, including Alabama transfer Brandon Turnage and West Virgnia transfer Tykee Smith. Former five-star recruit Kelee Ringo will compete for playing time.

Kendrick’s big-game experience will be critical for the secondary. He is considered a top cornerback prospect for the 2022 NFL draft, but there are concerns about his character.

Kendrick proved himself as a top cornerback during his time at Clemson. He finished the 2020 season as an All-ACC performer. The former South Pointe High School star deflected six passes, recorded a sack and intercepted one pass last season for the Tigers.

Kendrick has 23 career starts at cornerback. He has played in five career College Football Playoff games.

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Georgia adds former Clemson DB Derion Kendrick: Twitter reacts

Here are the best Twitter reactions to Georgia football landing former 5-star Clemson Tigers CB Derion Kendrick.

Per a report from Dawgnation, former Clemson All-ACC cornerback Derion Kendrick is transferring to Georgia.

Georgia plays Clemson in Charlotte on college football’s opening weekend and Kendrick very well may be on the field playing against his former team.

This is huge news for Georgia, as the secondary is easily the biggest area of concern after losing three starting cornerbacks from last year’s team to the NFL (Eric Stokes, Tyson Campbell, DJ Daniels).

The  6-foot-1, 190-pound cornerback is a product of South Pointe High School, the same Rock Hill, South Carolina school that produced Jadeveon Clowney. As a recruit, Kendrick had 5-stars next to his name and was recruited as a wide receiver.

Here are the best Twitter reactions to Georgia landing the former 5-star:

Report: Former Clemson All-ACC CB Derion Kendrick transferring to Georgia

Per a report from Dawgnation, former Clemson Tigers all-ACC CB Derion Kendrick is transferring to Georgia football.

Per a report from Dawgnation, former Clemson All-ACC cornerback Derion Kendrick is transferring to Georgia.

Georgia plays Clemson in Charlotte on college football’s opening weekend and Kendrick very well may be on the field playing against his former team.

This is huge news for Georgia, as the secondary is easily the biggest area of concern after losing three starting cornerbacks from last year’s team to the NFL (Eric Stokes, Tyson Campbell, DJ Daniels).

Georgia also added former Alabama cornerback Brandon Turnage tis offseason via transfer.

The  6-foot-1, 190-pound cornerback is a product of South Pointe High School, the same Rock Hill, South Carolina school that produced Jadeveon Clowney. As a recruit, Kendrick had 5-stars next to his name and was recruited as a wide receiver.

From Dawgnation:

Kendrick said in a recent podcast that he is putting a priority on academics in his return to campus. He was dismissed from the Clemson football team in February after missing required team activities. Kendrick indicated he was tending to family issues but did not communicate that properly.

A misdemeanor charge for “unlawful carrying of a handgun” clouded matters for Kendrick in March after officers found him asleep in his car with a gun on his lap. A small amount of marijuana led to a citation, per the Rock Hill Herald.

Last season, Kendrick started in eight of the nine games, leading the team with six pass break-ups.

ESPN’s Todd McShay misses the mark for Chiefs in latest mock draft

McShay sends a first-round cornerback to the Chiefs, entirely missing the mark on team needs and their cornerback situation.

The NFL’s regular-season for 2020 has come to a conclusion and many teams have turned their attention fully to the 2021 NFL draft. The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t one of those teams as they’re on a bye week and set to play in the divisional round of the playoffs. However, that won’t stop draftnik’s from predicting what Kansas City might do to improve their team in the draft.

ESPN Senior Writer Todd McShay took a crack at predicting all 32 picks in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. He used ESPN’s FPI (Football Power Index) to determine the draft order following the first 18 picks. Chiefs fans will be happy to learn that the team is set to repeat as Super Bowl champions in this prediction.

The problem here is the pick that McShay makes and the reasoning behind it. He takes Clemson CB Derion Kendrick with pick No. 32. Here’s a look at what he had to say about it:

“Should the Chiefs repeat as Super Bowl champions, as FPI predicts, they will again be closing down Day 1 of the draft. They went with offense last year, taking Clyde Edwards-Helaire to jump-start the run game. Rejuvenating the offensive line could an option here, to continue keeping the offense dominant. Another pass-rusher could be a smart play too. But with Bashaud Breeland set to hit the open market, cornerback is going to need another boost. L’Jarius Sneed, a fourth-rounder in 2020, played well this season, but getting a guy like Kendrick would shore up the position even more. He is fluid in transition and has former-wideout hands, hauling in three interceptions over two years since making the conversion to defensive back.”

I don’t disagree with McShay’s evaluation of Kendrick, though, I’m not sure he’s a first-round cornerback. Evaluators will certainly do a double-take after Ohio State WR Chris Olave took Kendrick to school in the Sugar Bowl. McShay’s first two thoughts here were spot on even, but what he seemed to settle for makes little to no sense for Kansas City.

First, let’s set the record straight with rookie CB L’Jarius Sneed. He has the third-lowest passer rating allowed in the league next to Xavien Howard and Bryce Callahan. Make no mistake here, the Chiefs landed the best rookie cornerback in the 2020 NFL draft in the fourth round last year.

I take issue with the summation of the cornerback situation in Kansas City as a whole from McShay too. Yes, Bashaud Breeland is set to be a free agent, but what’s to say he won’t take another one-year deal? We’re talking about a player that has openly stated he wants to earn a big contract. With that in mind, we saw what his market was like this past year. Now he’s entering a free agency year with a low salary-cap. There’s no telling what happens with him this year.

Even if Breeland does leave, the Chiefs have options. Rashad Fenton (another late-round stud) and BoPete Keyes (a promising rookie) are under contract. Charvarius Ward will be a restricted free agent, who can be retained on the cheap. Then there’s whatever becomes of the DeAndre Baker situation.

So why should Brett Veach potentially reach for a cornerback at the end of the first round? He’s already proven in the past two years that he can find secondary talent to fit this scheme later in the draft. Fans have clamored for a first-round cornerback since the team traded Marcus Peters away following the 2017 NFL season, but Veach has proven that he can build a winning team without one.

McShay should have doubled-back to those first few thoughts here. Kansas City could use help in the trenches on both sides of the ball. If there aren’t any adequate players at those positions for pick No. 32, Veach should grab the best weapon available for the offense and keep that unit as dominant as ever.

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Sugar Bowl key matchup: Ohio State WR Chris Olave versus Clemson DB Derion Kendrick

Chris Olave versus Derion Kendrick is a key matchup in the Sugar Bowl between Ohio State and Clemson We break down this matchup.

We are just a couple of days from Ohio State playing Clemson in a rematch of last year’s Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal. This time, it’s set to take place in the Sugar Bowl as another semifinal. As we get ready for the game, there are some key matchups we’ll be taking a look at. One of those is in the passing game when the Buckeyes are on offense.

After a rough start to his season, Clemson cornerback Derion Kendrick has gone from being on Dabo Swinney’s bad side, being sat down in the opener, to Swinney’s good side. Kendrick is a converted wide receiver who now plays outside corner for the Clemson Tigers and plays it really well. Kendrick is a smart player who learns quickly from mistakes and has superb ball skills.

On the opposite side for the Ohio State Buckeyes will be wide receiver Chris Olave. He is a smooth route runner who breaks into and out of routes quickly and efficiently. A natural hands catcher, Olave also has great ball skills and does well to get Justin Fields opportunities to throw his way.

To say that he was missed against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship game would be an understatement. Now, he is reportedly back.

This matchup will likely start at the line of scrimmage where getting off on press coverage will probably be the key to who wins each rep. Kendrick gets his hand out in front of his body and can pull himself a little off balance at times. If Olave, who weighs less than Kendrick, can bully Kendrick on the line, he should be able to get a good release into his route to create separation.

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Once in the route, Olave has the upper hand as Kendrick can get a little sloppy in his hip turn to run with receivers. However, Kendrick has fantastic closing speed and could make up any ground lost quickly. It will require Justin Fields to hit Olave earlier in a route as opposed to hoping he remains open for longer durations.

On contested catches, it will be a little bit of a 50/50 situation where both have the ball skills to get to the football. Fields will have to place the ball where only Olave has a chance of catching the ball or Kendrick can and will make Fields pay. Olave should be able to beat Kendrick more often than not if he keeps his routes crisp and gives Fields an open window.

Ohio State could decide to roll Garrett Wilson over to Kendrick if Clemson does play more press coverage. Wilson is a little more physical than Olave and if he gets off fast enough has more speed to counter Kendrick’s ability to make up ground. If Clemson plays zone, then keeping Olave on Kendrick makes more sense. Kendrick can drift a little in zone which would let Olave find open spaces in the zone a little easier with his route running.

Olave versus Kendrick is a key matchup for Ohio State. Clemson will probably have to roll safety coverage to Olave’s side which should help Wilson get open over the top. Should Clemson roll coverage to Wilson, Olave has to find the soft spots and sit down. It will be up to Ryan Day and his staff to watch and take advantage as the game wears on.

But, it should be there as long as everyone is doing their job.

Ohio State’s bowl history over the past 20 years

 

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ACC Championship Game: Second-Quarter Analysis

For the first time this season, Notre Dame needs to seriously reconsider its game plan.

For the first time this season, Notre Dame needs to seriously reconsider its game plan. If it doesn’t, Clemson could pull away en route to an easy win the ACC Championship Game. Many hoped that the second quarter would be a rebound to a disappointing end to the first. Instead, things got worse, and the Irish trail, 24-3, at halftime.

Deep in Tigers territory, the Irish realized they would have to take chances early if it wanted to take back control. On fourth-and-3, Avery Davis couldn’t hold onto an Ian Book pass that he should have. The Tigers took the ball over, and Trevor Lawrence immediately completed a 21-yard pass to Cornell Powell. He only needed a few more plays to hit E.J. Williams for a 33-yard touchdown.

When Book returned to the field, he had as miserable a time on a football field as he has all season. On what turned out to be the Irish’s only series, he took back-to-back sacks from K.J. Henry and Derion Kendrick. Although Jay Bramblett had a 51-yard punt, it meant little to Lawrence, who led another solid drive and got to the Irish’s 10-yard line. The Notre Dame defense didn’t let him advance the ball any further, and it was happy to only allow a 27-yard field goal from B.T. Potter.

After another offensive drive that stalled out quickly, Bramblett punted it 47 yards to the Clemson 12. With time running out on the half, the Tigers used a series of runs and short passes to at least get into field-goal range before the half. The drive ended with a 44-yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne. It all happened in 1:49, putting the Irish in a deeper halftime hole than they might have anticipated.

Don’t lose faith yet, Irish fans. So many times this season, we’ve seen this team fall down and pick itself back up, making it stronger than it was before. If that holds true now, we’re about to see the best half of football it’s played all year. As the old saying goes, setbacks are setups for comebacks.

ACC Championship Game: Second-Quarter Analysis

For the first time this season, Notre Dame needs to seriously reconsider its game plan.

For the first time this season, Notre Dame needs to seriously reconsider its game plan. If it doesn’t, Clemson could pull away en route to an easy win the ACC Championship Game. Many hoped that the second quarter would be a rebound to a disappointing end to the first. Instead, things got worse, and the Irish trail, 24-3, at halftime.

Deep in Tigers territory, the Irish realized they would have to take chances early if it wanted to take back control. On fourth-and-3, Avery Davis couldn’t hold onto an Ian Book pass that he should have. The Tigers took the ball over, and Trevor Lawrence immediately completed a 21-yard pass to Cornell Powell. He only needed a few more plays to hit E.J. Williams for a 33-yard touchdown.

When Book returned to the field, he had as miserable a time on a football field as he has all season. On what turned out to be the Irish’s only series, he took back-to-back sacks from K.J. Henry and Derion Kendrick. Although Jay Bramblett had a 51-yard punt, it meant little to Lawrence, who led another solid drive and got to the Irish’s 10-yard line. The Notre Dame defense didn’t let him advance the ball any further, and it was happy to only allow a 27-yard field goal from B.T. Potter.

After another offensive drive that stalled out quickly, Bramblett punted it 47 yards to the Clemson 12. With time running out on the half, the Tigers used a series of runs and short passes to at least get into field-goal range before the half. The drive ended with a 44-yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne. It all happened in 1:49, putting the Irish in a deeper halftime hole than they might have anticipated.

Don’t lose faith yet, Irish fans. So many times this season, we’ve seen this team fall down and pick itself back up, making it stronger than it was before. If that holds true now, we’re about to see the best half of football it’s played all year. As the old saying goes, setbacks are setups for comebacks.