Two Clemson Tigers Land on PFF’s Highest-Graded Transfer Safeties Rankings

The Clemson Tigers and Dabo Swinney had their most active offseason in the transfer portal since its inception in 2018, adding 10 players to finish as the No. 31 overall transfer class, according to On3 rankings.

On Monday, PFF posted their highest-graded transfer safeties of the offseason, and Clemson had both of their projected starters on the list. The only other program to have two of its safeties on the list is the Cincinnati Bearcats.

The first to be listed was Southern Miss transfer Corey Myrick, who ranked as the No. 1 player by a wide margin with an 87.3 grade, 6.1 ahead of second place. The second was Old Dominion transfer Jerome Carter III, who tied for the seventh slot with a 76.3 grade.

Highest Graded Transfer Safeties this Offseason🔥 pic.twitter.com/WfD4fIqZRP
— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 16, 2026

Considering Myrick came in atop the rankings, let’s talk about him first.

Ranked as the No. 37 safety and No. 393 overall player in the transfer portal, Myrick entered the cycle as one of the most coveted defensive backs available.

In his sophomore campaign last season, the 6-foot-3 free safety broke out for the Golden Eagles, racking up 92 tackles, 4.5 for a loss, four pass deflections, two interceptions and one forced fumble. He finished the season tied for the 11th-most tackles in the Sun Belt Conference and eighth among all safeties in the FBS.

His speed and length in the secondary are two of his most attractive traits, and they showed during the 2025 season. Across 384 coverage snaps, he allowed just 109 yards, one touchdown and a 53.7 passer rating, boasting an 86.2 coverage grade on the year.

Entering 2026 with the Tigers, Myrick will be thrust into a starting position following the departures of Khalil Barnes and Ricardo Jones, who both left for SEC programs in Georgia and Vanderbilt.

Similar to his secondary counterpart, Carter was also one of the top defensive backs in the transfer portal, ranking just one spot behind Myrick as the No. 38 safety and the No. 406 overall player.

As a full-time starter for the Monarchs in 2025, the 6-foot-1 ball hawk finished with 75 tackles, two pass deflections and an absurd six interceptions, which tied for the second-most in the country. His performance earned him second-team All-Sun Belt honors.

Ironically, one of the players he tied for picks with was Clemson’s own Ricardo Jones. With Jones now gone, Carter steps in as a natural replacement in the secondary, bringing proven ball production to the back end of the defense.