Veteran Tiger defender says adversity will help build chemistry, show leadership

Jalyn Phillips says the adversity will build chemistry and show who the real leaders are on the team.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Fri Sep 08 09:00:09 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - Monday’s loss to Duke was not just about the end result but how they lost.

Clemson beat themselves with missed tackles, fumbles and just a general lack of energy on the team. For captains like sixth-year safety Jalyn Phillips, this was an incredibly hard defeat.

“It’s a very disappointing loss for us. The ultimate goal for us is to win, just to go after the win,” Phillips said. “But, you got to give credit to Duke. They came out there prepared. We made multiple mistakes that we just got to learn from. In this program, we are known for flushing things and having that windshield mentality and just flushing it and moving onto the next.”

So while the Tigers are flushing their last game, they are also faced with having to prove themselves once again to the nation, showing that they are an elite college football team this year. Usually this kind of a start would make that goal unattainable, but Phillips argues that the adversity will actually help Clemson grow overall as a program.

“There’s no perfect team. There’s no perfect person in life. Everybody’s going to go through some adversity,” Phillips said. “That’s all it is here, going through a little adversity, maybe having to a little earlier than we expected, but it’s always something that you can learn from. Going through adversity helps. It helps build this team, it helps build chemistry, it helps show who the real leaders are, who the real dogs are in the team.”

One bright spot that can be taken from the game on Monday is that the team stuck together on the sideline.

“I feel like we stuck together on the sideline when things didn’t go our way. I didn’t see anybody quit, and that’s the main thing, just going out there and giving your effort, no matter what the score,” Phillips said. “We don’t play to a scoreboard. We play to a standard, and that’s the big thing Coach Swinney wants. No matter what the scoreboard is, we go out there and play to the standard.”

While they may not have lived up to that standard in the season opener, the upcoming game against Charleston Southern provides the Tigers with a chance to turn things around in front of their home crowd. In addition to the unveiling of the Tiger Walk showcase, Phillips is looking forward to being in front of the home crowd.

“I feel like we’ve got the best fans,” Phillip said. “I’ll be out there on defense and I can barely hear anything out there, so we have to signal everything. But, I’m just so ready to get out there for the home game, home opener with our fans out there cheering for us and just going out there, just getting a W.”

Clemson starts their streak of three home games this coming Saturday with Charleston Southern (2:15 p.m./ACC Network) followed by Florida Atlantic for family weekend (Sept. 16; 8 p.m./ACC Network) and then with the top-ranked team currently in the ACC, Florida State (Sept. 23; game-time and network to be announced).