Avieon Terrell making veterans take notice, says he wants to be better than AJ

Avieon Terrell is turning heads in Clemson fall camp.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Aug 20 07:00:25 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Most little brothers don’t like being compared to their older brothers, and even though Avieon Terrell looks up to AJ Terrell, he wants to be even better.

Avieon is a freshman cornerback at Clemson and the younger brother of AJ, who concluded his three-year Clemson career credited with 107 career tackles (3.5 for loss), 20 pass breakups, six interceptions (returned for a total of 160 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown) and two forced fumbles over 1,827 snaps in 44 games (30 starts). AJ started all 15 games in his first year as a starter in 2018, scoring the first points of the College Football Playoff National Championship on a pick-six, and helped Clemson to a 29-1 record in two years as a starter.

AJ is now an All-Pro and has started 44 games in his NFL career, but several older players at Clemson are already comparing the brothers’ games. Senior cornerback Sheridan Jones sees a lot of similarities.

“For me, it’s a little personal just seeing Avieon come in here knowing that my freshman year, AJ was on his way out,” Jones said. “So just me gelling with him and learning from him every day, all I could soak up from him my freshman year, and just seeing his younger brother not only makes me feel old but just Clemson is just a different place, there’s so much love and just watching him and excited to see what he is going to do.”

Jones said it’s easy to tell that AJ and Aveion are brothers.

“They look identical,” Jones said. “Like from the first day, I was working out with him before camp. He was already in the summertime, out there in Atlanta, and his technique, they look just alike. It’s just crazy just seeing how fast and how open he is to learning the game. He wants to know everything, every little detail. He’s like a sponge, and that’s good to see.”

Avieon said he doesn’t mind the comparisons but also wants to be better than his older brother.

“I’ve always looked up to him,” Avieon said. “I want to be better than him, but I have to get to that stage first. He always pushes me to do better. He’s the better corner and I still have to get where he is.”

What does it take to be that kind of corner?

“Knowing the playbook, being that dog,” Avieon said. "Knowing where you are supposed to be, watching film, all of that.”

Avieon has already made an impression on safety Andrew Mukuba.

“He don’t even play nickel. Coach didn’t even ask him to play nickel, but he would jump out there, and he would come up to me and ask me questions,” Mukuba said. “What do I do on this? What do I do on that? And I would tell him, then he’d just go out there and do it, and he would do it well. He’s just a young guy that he’s hungry, and he wants to get a chance to go out there and play. He wants to learn, and he wants to help the team in whatever way he can.”