Dabo Swinney is a Derion Kendrick fan, for 11 games at least
.jpg "After transferring to Georgia in June, former Clemson cornerback Derion Kendrick will face his former team in the season opener on Sept. 4 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.")
Former Clemson cornerback Derion Kendrick had one final message for the Tigers when he announced his transfer to Georgia in June.
“To my brothers at Clemson, the coaches that supported me, and to my fans I appreciate you for not giving up on me,” he wrote in an Instagram post on June 1. “There are times in life when changes become necessary for one to grow, some people have to walk out of your life for others to walk in!!!”
His transfer destination just happened to be with Clemson’s season-opening opponent on Sept. 4 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Kendrick is expected to be competing for a starting spot for the Bulldogs right away.
Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney addressed Kendrick’s new college home first time Tuesday. It didn’t surprise Swinney at all that Kendrick was able to find a home with Georgia.
“They’re a great program, do a great job defensively,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity for him. I’m just happy that he has an opportunity to finish up, hopefully strong.”
The transfer added another wrinkle in a contest that already had plenty of storylines. For one, it has College Football Playoff implications despite it being the first game of the year, and now it’ll put Kendrick against his former squad.
Instead of going against Justyn Ross, E.J. Williams and Joseph Ngata in practice, he’ll have to line up against them in real time.
“Love DK and wish him all the best,” Swinney said Tuesday. “In every game but the first one, I’ll be pulling for him.”
The game added another layer of interest on Tuesday when ESPN announced its Saturday morning “College GameDay” TV show will air Sept. 4 from Charlotte, North Carolina. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and will air on ABC.
The move to Athens came after a roller coaster of a 2020 season for Kendrick. After transitioning from wide receiver to cornerback in 2019, the Rock Hill native played his first full season on the defensive side of the ball, totaling 20 tackles, six pass break-ups, an interception, quarterback sack and 66-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. At the same time, he was in and out of Tigers head football coach Swinney’s “love shack” and missed three games despite starting in eight of the nine games played on the year.
During the offseason in March, Kendrick was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a gun and simple possession of marijuana. Those charges have since been expunged after he completed a pretrial intervention program through York County Criminal Court.
Prior to the arrest, it was acknowledged that Kendrick was no longer part of the Tigers’ squad. Swinney didn’t specify the reason, but confirmed the move on March 1.
“Love him and gonna, again, always support him,” Swinney said of Kendrick at the time. “Hopefully, he’ll get in a good spot and really be able to finish up like I know he’s capable of doing.”
2021 Clemson Tigers football schedule
- Sept. 4 vs. Georgia (at Charlotte), 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
- Sept. 11 vs. South Carolina State, 5 p.m. (ACC Network)
- Sept. 18 vs. Georgia Tech, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN or ABC)
- Sept. 25 at N.C. State
- Oct. 2 vs. Boston College
- Oct. 15 at Syracuse, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
- Oct. 23 at Pittsburgh
- Oct. 30 vs. Florida State
- Nov. 6 at Louisville
- Nov. 13 vs. Connecticut
- Nov. 20 vs. Wake Forest
- Nov. 27 at South Carolina
