Mike Reed wants opponents to know Clemson means business this season

Mike Reed has coached Clemson's cornerbacks since 2013, now serving in an assistant head coach and special teams coordinator role as well.

by Grayson Mann - Correspondent - Mon Jul 29 12:43:33 GMT-05:00 2024

Even Ivan Drago was human.

For fans of the “Rocky” franchise, they remember when Rocky Balboa landed the first significant blow to Drago. You see he’s actually mortal, and Balboa pushes on to win the fight and the movie.

If you ask cornerbacks coach Mike Reed, it is an analogy to describe opposing squads’ perception of Clemson. Reed can’t change the ending to the series, but he can alter opponents' view of the Tigers in 2024.

Not only does Reed want to bring a reputation back, but he also wants to carry over the resilience that defined the Clemson defense in 2023.

“It's resilience,” Reed said. “We fought week in and week out. It's one of those things where people are not scared of Clemson anymore. It's like that old Rocky thing when our Rocky hits Drago in the face, and he cuts him, and they're talking about, oh, he is human. We're human. You know what I mean? And so now we got to get back on that horse, and we got to make people understand that this is Clemson, and we mean business.”

For the cornerbacks of Reed’s tenure as the leading man of that position group, the top corner spot has been associated with plenty of success.

You have recent choices, like Nate Wiggins, who was recently drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft.

There are corners like AJ Terrell, who’s only continued to improve in the pros, becoming an All-Pro for the Atlanta Falcons. Returning to Reed’s early days, Bashaud Breeland was an All-ACC selection in 2013 who also had a pretty solid career in the pros.

Regardless of when, Reed’s top guy has always been a staple of that toughness he desires for his cornerback room.

Now, stepping into 2024, a new face, but one with a familiar name, is next in that lineage at the top spot.

Avieon Terrell, the younger sibling to his NFL counterpart AJ, is expected to hold down the top spot within the secondary. Terrell’s best football in his freshman campaign came at the right time, as Clemson began to put together a five-game winning streak.

In that stretch, Terrell logged 11 tackles, four pass deflections, and an acrobatic interception against Georgia Tech.

Most of Terrell’s snaps last year were playing Robin to Wiggins’ Batman, but Reed believes Terrell has what it takes to go from sidekick to superhero.

“He's continued to hone in on his craft, and that's something that he does daily,” Reed said. “He’s been watching film, asking questions. He's one of those kinds of guys that you got to pull the reins back on because they'll overtrained, too. And that's what you see in many of these young athletes nowadays is guys that are overtrained, which causes a lot of soft tissue injuries. So just making sure that he's taking care of his body as well as doing his training.”

Reed’s confidence in his top guy and the rest of his room has also translated to his players. For a unit that contributed to a top 10 defense nationally, he believes there’s still more for this group to go out and achieve.

Reed’s readiness reflects a theme amongst the coaching staff heading into the opener against Georgia on Aug. 31 (noon/ABC/Mercedes-Benz Stadium).

Just as Clemson senior linebacker Barrett Carter alluded to in Charlotte, Reed is ready to seek redemption against a team that poses plenty of challenges to kick off the season.

“Last year wasn't a layup,” Reed said. “We got our stuff kicked. For me, motivation is we have to go perform every day. I mean, yeah, we play against Georgia, but I don't care who we play. We got to go get it. We got to go get it. And so for me, it's just, hey, we got to come together as a team, and we got to go out. We have to produce every day.”