Clemson signed 21 players as part of its 2022 recruiting class, some of whom still have yet to make it to campus.
Nine signees went through spring practice as early enrollees while the rest, including transfer Hunter Johnson, will arrive on campus this summer. The Clemson Insider is taking a closer look at each newcomer and the likelihood of him contributing immediately this fall based on development and positional need.
TCI previously highlighted Keith Adams Jr. Next up is Sherrod Covil Jr.
Position: Safety
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 190 pounds
Ranking: 4 stars (247Sports Composite)
Previous school: Oscar Smith (Virginia) High
Early enrollee? Yes
The skinny: The highest-rated safety signee in Clemson’s recruiting class, Covil got a head start on his collegiate career by going through the spring as an early enrollee and immediately impressed coaches and teammates with his instincts and physicality at the position. He’s quickly gained a reputation as a thumper who isn’t afraid to throw his body around but also showed an ability to hold up in coverage, most notably in the spring game when he intercepted starting quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei and returned the pick 31 yards to set up a touchdown.
“Y’all are going to hear about (Covil) a lot,” Mukuba said this spring.
Clemson still has a good amount of experience on the back end of its defense even with Nolan Turner no longer around. Jalyn Phillips is in line to take over as Turner’s successor at free safety while Andrew Mukuba was a freshman All-American at strong safety. R.J. Mickens is also back as is Landen Zannders (shoulder) and Tyler Venables (hip), who should be back at full strength this fall after either missing the spring or being limited while recovering from injuries. But Covil got up to speed with first-year coordinator Wesley Goodwin’s system this spring and showed enough from a talent standpoint that he could find himself part of the safety rotation sooner rather than later.
