Plenty of cornerbacks have walked the same path as Jeadyn Lukus, but not every one of them is cut from the same cloth as the five-star cornerback.
Lukus is tall and lengthy. Soft-spoken, yet humble.
Just by watching him, you can tell why he was such a sought-after prospect on the recruiting trail and why Clemson made him such a priority in the 2022 class.
He’s one of the best cornerbacks the nation has to offer, but he’s not going to let you know about it. Lukus is going to let his play do the talking.
The Clemson Insider traveled to Mauldin High School to watch Lukus, a Clemson class of 2022 commit, as a part of our annual Tour of Champions. After visiting with Josh Sapp and Collin Sadler at Greenville High School last week, it was time for TCI to see a five-star.
Lukus made his presence known early on.
The ball wasn’t thrown his way once during the first half of Mauldin’s 48-13 win over Carolina Academy. Instead, Lukus fought off some blocks and snuffed out a couple of tackles, including one for a loss.
While his presence alone was enough to prevent any scoring opportunities, Lukus’s highlights came when he was on the offensive end, lining up in the slot. The lockdown corner even caught a touchdown.
“Really, it was just a simple play, it was just a slant,” he said. “I told the quarterback before the play, it was going to be open because I ran it down there and throw it. Told the quarterback, made the play and that was pretty much it.”
How does Lukus feel about playing receiver?
“When you’re a playmaker, especially in high school, you got to play both sides of the ball. “Do what you can for your team really, especially if you’re scoring touchdowns, running up the score like,” he added while pointing to the scoreboard.”
He saw the field in just about every play during the first 24 minutes, except when he was forced to come off the field because his pants weren’t below his knees. Seriously.
It was the second week in a row that Lukus would make a highlight-reel play. Last week, with Clemson cornerbacks coach Mike Reed in attendance, Lukus intercepted his second pass of the season and helped set up a touchdown on the very next play.
When asked what his relationship was with Reed, Lukus crossed his fingers to demonstrate just how close the two are.
“That’s my dawg,” he said of Reed. “We’re close. We talk all the time. The technique he be doing too. He and Coach Venables go through, like the schemes and stuff. Yeah, Coach Reed is a great coach.”
According to Lukus, Reed has told him to come in and be ready to play early. Clemson is talented at the cornerback position, but Reed’s room is lacking depth, hence the class Lukus is coming in with.
The multi-talented group has a real chance to be special because of the star power at defensive back.
“Historic DB class. One of the best DB classes ever signed,” he said. “We got so many dawgs. We got Daylen [Everette], Toriano [Pride], Keon [Sabb], [Sherrod Covil], me. That’s like five, that’s like the Thanos Gauntlet, man. C’mon now. That’s crazy.”
Dating back to his recruitment, Lukus kept his options open, but when July 28 rolled around, he knew his heart belonged in The Valley.
“Clemson, that’s just that dream school for me,” Lukus said. “I grew up a couple of minutes — 45-50 minutes down the road — I kind of knew early on that was going to be my main contender, especially when I took those visits in the summer, I knew that’s when they went to the top for me.”
Before he makes his mark at Clemson, Lukus has one goal in mind: State Championship.
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