Snap Counts Reveal Rising Contributor in Clemson's Secondary

The Clemson Tigers have seen many different sets of players go out to play on defense this season, but there has been a late riser who has seen more snaps in the secondary as the season has progressed.

Redshirt freshman cornerback Corian Gipson saw a season-high in snaps during Friday night’s win over the Louisville Cardinals, playing a total of 33 snaps for Clemson last weekend. That’s seven snaps more than the previous game, against Florida State.

In the win over the Cardinals, Gipson recorded seven total tackles, tied for second on the team, and a career-high with Clemson, with three of those being by himself. According to Pro Football Focus, the cornerback received a grade of 70, being the highest-ranked member of the secondary in the win.

Entering the week, following a strong performance against the Seminoles on Nov. 8, the Clemson depth chart had either Gipson or Misun Kelley at the TIGER position, defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s specialized position at the nickel. The Fort Worth, Texas, native got the best of the former starter with his performance on the field, with Kelley recording only two snaps on Friday night.

The recent performances have caught the eye of head coach Dabo Swinney, who spoke highly about him on his Sunday teleconference.

“He’s still learning, you know, but he’s developing a little bit of a knack because he mostly was playing corner, and then we ended up moving him inside, you know, and he’s done a nice job,” he said. “He’s gotten better and better and better. You just see his confidence growing but I mean, he can run, he’s physical, he’s got a lot of grittiness to him. I love that about him, and he’s having some fun. It’s good to see his personality starting to come out.”

Gipson didn’t see much of the field his freshman year due to suffering a torn ACL injury in his senior year at Lancaster High School in Texas. He only played 14 snaps in 2024 before activating his redshirt to learn more under the defensive scheme.

Now, Swinney has seen him trust the process and come out of his shell.

“Again, not very confident when he got here last year, coming off the injury and all that type of stuff,” he said, “and just, and when I say confident, just confident in being able to physically do what he needs to do and then a lot to learn on top of it, especially not even really getting to play as a senior in high school, but he’s coming into his own.”

Clemson only has two games for the remainder of the season, not including a bowl game, but with a strong senior class ready to head out of the exit doors and into the NFL, there will be a lot of spots to fill, let alone if the transfer portal plays a factor. With star corner Avieon Terrell set to leave this offseason for the NFL Draft, there is a battle for who that new top member of the secondary could be.

Could Gipson be that player? With the way that he’s played over the last two weeks, don’t be surprised if he makes a run for it in seasons to come.

“He’s been a real bright spot for us right now,” Swinney said, “but he’s a guy that I think there’s a lot more that we’ll be able to get out of his game as he goes through his career, just a redshirt freshman.”

Gipson and the Tigers will be back in action against Furman at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the CW Network.