Clemson football: Former 5-star recruit Derion Kendrick dismissed from program

Former five-star recruit Derion Kendrick is no longer on the Clemson football team.

After starting at cornerback the last two seasons, Derion Kendrick has been dismissed by the Clemson football program. The Clemson Tigers have made the College Football Playoff every year Kendrick has been with the team.

The Rock Hill, South Carolina native returned to Clemson ahead of his senior season with the hopes of improving his 2022 NFL Draft stock. However, his former head coach Dabo Swinney has apparently had enough of his off-the-field antics. Disciplinary issues were why Swinney held Kendrick out of a handful of games last college football season. This move comes as quite a shock.

Derion Kendrick has entered the transfer portal after three years at Clemson

Coming out of South Pointe High School, Kendrick was the No. 1 player from South Carolina, the No. 4 wide receiver and the No. 26 overall recruit in the 2018 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He had 16 official offers along with Clemson, including Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Georgia. Despite the off-field concerns, Kendrick is a huge commodity hitting the transfer portal.

Of the teams who offered him out of high school, Georgia feels like a strong landing spot for him. While their recruiting territory overlaps in Northeast Georgia, the Dawgs and the Tigers do not play in the same conference. Though he could transfer to any number of schools, it would be bonkers to see Kendrick wearing the Red and Black when the Dawgs take on the Tigers in early September.

Kendrick leaving the Clemson program certainly leaves a void in the back-end of its defense.

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