Clemson football cornerback Nate Wiggins on struggles: 'It won't be like that again'
CLEMSON – Nate Wiggins was in press coverage.
Wiggins, the Clemson football cornerback, this time was not in a defensive formation on the field, but in front of media microphones and cameras Monday at the team's indoor facility.
He could have turned down the request for his presence. Instead, he was willing, if not eager, to talk about not only his game-winning play Saturday but also his numerous mistakes. Clemson's cornerbacks, especially Wiggins, had a tough day in Winston-Salem as Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman threw for six touchdowns.
In the end, however, Wiggins knocked away a fourth-down pass in the end zone and Clemson beat the Demon Deacons, 51-45, in double overtime.
Fifth-ranked Clemson (4-0, 2-0 ACC) plays at home Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC) against No. 10 N.C. State (4-0, 0-0) at Memorial Stadium. It will be a national spotlight game with the ESPN College GameDay crew on campus. There will be focus on Wiggins, too, because he might get picked on by the Wolfpack and quarterback Devin Leary.
"They can try," Wiggins said. "I know what I can do. It won't be like that again."
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Wiggins was visibly upset against Wake Forest, especially by a couple of pass interference calls against him, but said he tried not to let it ruin his confidence.
"There was a lot of adversity. I had to handle adversity well. It was pretty hard to deal with," Wiggins said. "... It was pretty important just to show that all the penalties and the touchdowns scored on me didn't affect me."
Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin said he kept reminding Wiggins to forget about the last play and focus on the next one.
"'Hey, you're our guy,'" Goodwin said he told Wiggins. "'Have that confidence and belief. ... Hey, move on. Dwelling on the past is going to do us no good here. We've got opportunities to go get stops and win the game here at the end. Let's rise to the occasion.'
"You always talk about next play mentality. You're going to give up big plays in the back end. You just have to have the mindset, 'Hey, next play. Next opportunity.' And he went out there and had a great play on the ball to win the game."
Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football DB put in tough corner: 'It won't be like that again'
