Wallace: Tigers are 'dangerous'

After the Clemson secondary was torched through the air — to the tune of 430 yards and three touchdowns — in last year's 28-26 victory over Texas A&M, one would assume the Tigers would be humbled.

CLEMSON — After the Clemson secondary was torched through the air — to the tune of 430 yards and three touchdowns — in last year's 28-26 victory over Texas A&M, one would assume the Tigers would be humbled.

But that is not the case. In fact, the very secondary that was a liability in that win immediately changed their tune—challenging future teams to try to throw on them.

“We’re a secondary that’s hungry, who wants the ball in the air, who wants to get those opportunities to make a couple picks like me,” safety K’Von Wallace said following last year's game. “I left at least three picks out there. Like I said, I love quarterbacks that throw the ball and I don’t want to sit there and just run, run, run all day. If any team feels like they can expose us with the deep ball, I feel like they should go ahead and try it.”

 The Tigers' secondary responded following Wallace's comments, as they held seven of their next 13 opponents to less than 200 yards passing.

Even after the secondary redeemed themselves, minus a game against South Carolina where Jake Bentley threw for 530 yards, Wallace believes that he still has something to prove.

“It was a long off-season for me because I was going in every day giving it all I had. I’m very excited to go out there and play each and every game…each and every game I want to redeem myself," Wallace said. "I want to go up and make a career in tackles. I want to make a career in interceptions. Whatever the case may be, I want to be a leader and held accountable. I want my teammates to know I’m a selfless player.”

The Tigers had better be ready for a challenge this week, as they play host the 11th-ranked Aggies. And there is no doubt in anyones mind that, based on last year's game, they are going to challenge the Tiger secondary.

"They've got some key ingredients back, starting with their QB," head coach Dabo Swinney said. "He's big-time. He's bigger, faster, stronger and more confident. He has made some big-time throws on the move. It just kills you. He can make all the throws. They threw the ball all over us in the fourth quarter last year. We couldn't stop them. We grew a lot from that game as the year went. Hopefully our experience on the back end this year will help us because they'll get off the bus throwing the football."

However even if they do come out throwing the ball down the field Saturday, Swinney believes that the lessons learned last season will pay dividends this season.

"We weren't smart late," Swinney said. "We were fine for three and a half quarters, but all of a sudden we lost our minds. This guy found his receivers. They made some competitive plays, but there were some where we didn't have anyone in the zip code. We just learned details. Now, we were young this time last year. We felt great about our corners but were inexperienced at safety. The whole back seven ... we like the guys we've got. We think they are a strength for us.

"They're going to make some plays on us. Our corners will have to win some matchups. We just have to be positioned better. Our confidence is good, but this will be a challenge ... for sure. It starts with being able to hold up on the run. If you can't do that, with their play action, it creates distortion for your coverage."

Wallace echoed the sentiments of his head coach and believes last season's two-point win proved that they were a great team—not because of their play, but because of their heart.

“It showed teams that we we were tough," Wallace said. "We weren’t going to quit or lay down and allow a team to strip us away from a victory. We wanted to win as bad as anybody. Going hard in that fourth quarter also showed up our mobility and our strength in the off-season. All the work that we put in the off-season, all the running, all the sweat, all the encouraging that we had within the team. The unit that we built is great to see, and we showed it on national television.”

Regardless of what happened last season, the Tigers' secondary is confident heading into this year's matchup that they are not just a good—they are a dangerous.

“We got two picks in the opening game. I’m not going to say that quarterbacks are going to be afraid to throw, but they tend to make smarter reads," Wallace said. "They are going to make sure that they trust their own eyes. We are a dangerous team, not just a dangerous secondary. On offense, defense, and special teams, we go out there and make plays.”