Clemson Football inches closer to one of, if not their hardest game of the year, as fall camp flies by. In one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2024 College Football season, they will play the Georgia Bulldogs on August 31st at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, setting the tone for each team this season.
The goal for Dabo Swinney and the team is to return to the College Football Playoff picture as a contender. An important step in that approach would be a victory over Georgia.
But it appears like the Clemson defense is always dealing with ailments to its defensive backs. Following Saturday’s scrimmage, Shelton Lewis sustained a leg injury that required crutches.
In the 2023 season, as a true freshman, Lewis finished with 10 tackles, two interceptions, and seven pass deflections. Including a masterclass against Georgia Tech where he had four pass breakups and a 46-yard pick-six, earning himself ACC Rookie of the Week.
Currently, no additional information has been released regarding the injury’s severity. It does sound like there is a slight chance that this is a major injury, though. Regardless, this is a vital loss for the Tigers as Lewis is one of their best defensive backs and was fighting to be one of the youngest starters in this secondary for the upcoming season.
Not to mention that Jeadyn Lukus is still day-to-day, according to Dabo Swinney.
“He’s out right now, but we should get him back here pretty soon; he’ll be day-to-day.”
Dabo Swinney
While Lukus hasn’t been able to stay healthy since coming to Clemson, he has all the potential in the world for a cornerback. He was a top 50 national recruit coming out of high school and has the size, frame, and ball-hawk skills; he just needs to stay on the field.
While I think Aveion Terrell will lock up that CB1 spot in Lewis’ absence, it’s a toss-up between a couple of players that will fill Lewis’ spot.
The true freshmen have been playing very well this offseason, including guys like Tavoy Feagin, Ricardo Jones, Corian Gipson, and Ashton Hampton. However, I feel that the player to replace Lewis while he recovers is Khalil Barnes.
While I don’t know the exact depth chart, if Lukus and Lewis both can’t go by Week 1, I think Aveion Terrell will be the CB1, RJ Mickens will be at SS, Griffin/Venables at FS, Tavoy Feagin at CB2, and Khalil Barnes at Nickelback.
Khalil Barnes is the easiest pick to replace Lewis at Nickelback as his first starts of his career came at that position in Weeks 2 and 3 of last season. He immediately made an impact at the position last year as in just his second game starting; he finished with six tackles, one forced fumble, one interception, and two pass-deflections.
His season totals were 38 tackles, one sack, three forced fumbles, three interceptions, and six pass-deflections. He simply has the ability to do it all on the field, whether it’s in pass-coverage or run-stopping.
Barnes will fit this position perfectly as he went back and forth between the Safety and Nickelback position all of last year, and still ended up as one of the best true-freshman safeties in the entirety of College Football.
