Mike Reed doesn’t recruit guys to sit on the bench
Heck, Clemson’s cornerbacks coach is 50-years-old. He’s not promised tomorrow and he wants to see guys like Jeadyn Lukus and Toriano Pride, Jr. play.
Reed was asked about his young corners when he met with the media Monday. Lukus and Pride are getting their first taste of spring football and it sounds like Clemson’s coaches are more than happy with the returns so far.
“As far as skillset, they are what they are, as far as the reason why I recruited them,” Reed said Monday. “They’re mature kids, highly athletic, tough. They’ve come in here with a good skill set, a basis to build on. Sometimes you get kids who are very raw and have to start from the ground up. A lot of these young men have a good foundation of football, they come from great programs, where they’ve been able to learn and taught a lot.
“It’s a blessing to see that in action. You guys see that play that Jeadyn Lukus made in the Under Armour game and you see it out here in practice and you go, ‘Wow, this is what I saw on film and on tape.'”
As for Lukus, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said last week that the Tigers are going to let him practice until spring break and then they will have him undergo clean-up surgery on his shoulder so that he is 100 percent when things ramp up.
“It’s one of those things where you don’t want to see a promising young man with his skill set and have an injury,” Reed said. “But, the one thing he’ll have to do is mentally stay in tune. He’ll just have to make the catch-up when we come back in the summer, but he’ll be ok. He’s a very talented kid and he’ll make the adjustments and be ready to go once September comes.”
Reed was asked how much he wants to see Lukus thicken his body between now and August. Like all newcomers, there will be a learning curve for Lukus, who is dealing with a shoulder injury. Physically, though, Reed feels like the true freshman corner is where he needs to be.
“He’s a big kid right now,” Reed said. “You’d like all of them to come in and look like that. He’s one of those kids that jumps out of a cereal box and is already assembled. Ain’t much I gotta do. Coach (Joey) Batson might have to tweak and tune up a bit, but he’s got an NFL body right now. He’s just gotta make the transition, as far as mentally playing on this level and the playbook and things of that nature.”
With all that said about Lukus, what has Reed seen from Pride thus far?
“Well, I have a picture that people always ask me when I recruit, ‘What’s your typical corner?’ Toriano Pride. As far as size, speed, strength, physicality, he has it. If you look at him on the practice field, he’s definitely what you want. Some people think I recruit taller guys. That’s not the case, I want the best guys.
“He’s a tremendous young man. He comes from a great football program. Like I said, he’s the reason why I went to St. Louis to go get a corner.”
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