Kevin Washington was watching a player he’s coached, trained and mentored.
At this point, Mauldin (S.C.) High School five-star Jeadyn Lukus has blossomed into a dominant, young cornerback. He’s already committed to Clemson and is one of the top cornerbacks in the 2022 recruiting class.
But we’ll get to that in a moment.
Washington received a phone call from Clemson cornerbacks coach Mike Reed.
It was in the middle of Mauldin’s 14-9 win over Spartanburg on Friday, Aug. 27. Reed wanted to check-in, to see how his young cornerback was faring in the debut game of his senior campaign. What other Division I coaches are doing that?
“How cool is that? He called in the middle of his game to check and see how he was doing,” Washington told The Clemson Insider. “That’s pretty cool. In the first game of the season, he’s calling. Asking about him.”
What type of player is Clemson getting in Lukus?
“Clemson is getting a great person, first and foremost,” Washington said. “Sonya and Mike Lukus have done a great job raising this young man. He’s just a good person. High grades. Yes sir, no sir kid. Obviously, extreme athletic ability. Just a good person. Just a really, really good guy.”
Washington had more knowledge about Lukus’s recruitment than most. Obviously, he has a close relationship with the Clemson commit, but Lukus kept his recruitment pretty close to vest.
“I think we all know this by now. He doesn’t say a whole lot,” Washington said. “He’s a very, very closed end. But once you get to know him, he’s such a great kid. He likes to have fun. He likes to laugh. He likes to play. He likes to crack jokes. He just has a reserved personality.”
At the end of the day, he’s just someone who lets his play do all the talking.
When it came to his recruitment, Washington indicated that Lukus kept his options wide open for the most part.
“He was just trying to enjoy the whole recruiting process and just take everything one day at a time,” Washington said. “I think when we went to the [Elite Retreat], Clemson just kind of sealed the deal. Great environment. Dabo is awesome. Coach Reed, Coach Venables as well, the whole staff. The environment man, it’s pretty great.”
When Lukus gave his verbal pledge to the Tigers back on July 28. He committed to Clemson over programs like Ohio State and North Carolina.
“Coach Reed, he sold it,” Washington said. “Obviously, we all talked about it. It’s the best fit for him. Jeadyn’s going to excel. It’s gonna be kind of exciting to go 40 minutes down the street to watch him play, as opposed to driving a couple of hours to watch him play, if he decided to go elsewhere.”
How does Washington see Lukus fitting in with what Clemson does defensively?
He views it as the perfect marriage. Point Blank.
“Coach Venables, he’s very, very aggressive,” Washington said. “We’ve spoken a couple of different times and I just picked his brain, had a couple of questions, just seeing how aggressive he is defensively. It’s very, very similar to a Mauldin Mavericks defense, where we lock up and we blitz and we just get after the quarterback.”
“I just think he’s gonna be a huge asset for the Clemson Tigers,” he added.
While Clemson is confident in its current cornerbacks, there’s not a whole lot of depth in Reed’s room. With that being said, the Tigers have received verbal commitments from three cornerbacks in the 2022 class — Lukus, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy 4-star Daylen Everette and East St. Louis (IL.) High School 4-star Toriano Pride. Additionally, the Tigers received verbal pledges from Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith 4-star safety Sherrod Covil and IMG Academy 4-star ATH Keon Sabb.
“As you can see, they’ve done an incredible job with some of the defensive backs they got coming into the school,” Washington added. “Some of those tremendous athletes are going to be able to push him, day in and day out in practice. I just feel like that’s just gonna really make him up his game. Which will be very, very exciting to see.”
Lukus will have a chance to get on the field early. Washington agrees, but he also doesn’t want to come off as biased. Though, there are few, if any people, who know Lukus better.
“I just feel like he can start right away. I really do,” he said. “He’s smart. He’ll be able to catch on to the scheme. He’s a very hard worker. He wants the challenge. He wants to be challenged. I just feel like the bigger the moment, the more pressure. He’s going to get pushed every day during practice. “
Washington feels that Lukus (6-2.5, 185) is the “total package,” that can shut down the opposing team’s No. 1 receiver.
“He’s a lockdown corner,” he said. “His technique is incredible. He’s able to get down low. He has great pad level. He’s extremely strong and has great leaping ability. The most important part is that he can run. I mean he can flat out fly. He’s the total package.”
While Washington is no longer coaching at Mauldin High School, he’s still making sure he’s present for Lukus’s games. Hence why Reed phoned him during Mauldin’s first game of the season.
“Coach Reed, that’s my guy,” Washington said. “We’re real, real cool. Coach Reed did a phenomenal job with his recruiting process and he’s been with [Jeadyn] the whole time. I’m a fan of Coach Reed. He’s always contacting me, asking me questions, how he can be available. Coach Reed has done a tremendous job in influencing Jeadyn to come to Clemson.”
Washington was back in the stands during Mauldin’s 24-21 loss to Greenville on Friday, Sept. 3.
He told TCI that Lukus had an interception, a “couple huge tackles,” and four receptions with 25 receiving yards.
Washington also shared this clip below with TCI of Lukus’s interception.
As far as Washington is concerned, Lukus will be in the stands with his father for Clemson’s marquee season-opening matchup against Georgia at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte (NC.) on Saturday night.
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