BOONE, N.C. — One cornerback has 11 interceptions in the last two seasons, a total that is tied for first place nationally. Another cornerback had four interceptions last season and ranked 18th nationally with 16 passes defended.
The return of
Clifton Duck and
Tae Hayes is a good starting point for an Appalachian State defense that has a new coordinator in
Bryan Brown, who will continue to coach the team's cornerbacks.
"You have your veteran guys, Duck and Hayes, who have done an outstanding job in competing each and every day, so they're continuing to get better," Brown said. "You also have your young guys who are most definitely getting better."
App State relied heavily on three cornerbacks last season, as
Shemar Jean-Charles contributed frequently in third-down packages as a redshirt freshman while sharing the field with Duck and Hayes. The effectiveness of that trio enabled the Mountaineers to redshirt three true freshman cornerbacks, and all six of those players have returned as the team goes through its 2018 spring practices with a notable newcomer in junior college transfer
A.J. Beach.
Shaun Jolly,
Steven Jones and
D'Andre Hicks, a run-first prep quarterback who has been working out with a short-handed running back group this spring, are also available to enhance the depth of an already accomplished position.
Duck repeated as a member of the All-Sun Belt Conference first team after ranking fourth in the nation with six interceptions and posting 50 tackles in 2017. Hayes made the PFF College Football site's All-Sun Belt first team thanks to a strong season that, in addition to the interceptions, included 12 pass breakups and 53 tackles.
Duck, a rising junior, and Hayes, a rising senior, had matching three-interception efforts against New Mexico State to tie the school record on the same day.
"Both have a lot of room to grow with having really good eye control and things of that nature, as well as tackling better," Brown said. "I'll challenge them both going into fall camp that we need to focus on tackling a good bit, and not giving up the big plays. One thing that they've excelled in this spring is not giving up that big play in the passing game, and that most definitely will help us come fall."
Aside from Jean-Charles, who broke up two second-quarter passes against Wake Forest in 2017, more depth should come along with the 2018 App State debuts of Beach, Jolly (from Stone Mountain, Ga.), Jones (from Rockingham, N.C.) and potentially the versatile Hicks (from Punta Gorda, Fla.). Two of those three Class of 2017 signees appeared as the No. 4 cornerback and traveled at different times as true freshmen in case they needed to take the field for the Mountaineers.
A Georgia native, Beach already has arrived in Boone after transferring from Georgia Military College.
"All of them have really good feet," Brown said. "Some have some different strengths than others, but as a whole group, I'm really pleased with them and where we are right now."
