Derion Rayshawn Kendrick (born August 24, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

, currently playing in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

and

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

Early life

Kendrick attended South Pointe High School in

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the most populous city in York County, South Carolina, United States, and the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 5th-most populous city in the state. It is also the 4th-most populous city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, be ...

. He played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in high school. As a senior, he was the South Carolina

Gatorade Football Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

after passing for 2,683 yards and 30

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

and rushing for 1,194 yards and 20 touchdowns. Kendrick played in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Game and was a finalist for the U. S. Army Player of the Year Award. He committed to

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

to play

College career

Kendrick started his Clemson career in 2018 as a wide receiver. As a true freshman that season, he played in 15 games, recording 15 receptions for 210 yards. Prior to his sophomore season in 2019, he transitioned into a

on an emergency basis, but after impressing coaches, he moved to the position full-time and earned a starting job. In 15 starts he had 43 tackles, two interceptions and a touchdown. Derion Kendrick

In February 2021, Kendrick was dismissed from the Clemson University football team. This came after a history of disciplinary problems. In June, he announced he was transferring to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Professional career

Kendrick was selected by the

in the sixth round, 212th overall, of the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

. In his rookie season, he appeared in 15 games, of which he started six. He had 43 total tackles (36 solo) and four passes defended. On July 25, 2024, head coach

Sean McVay Sean Patrick McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired ...

announced that Kendrick had suffered a torn ACL in practice, ending his season. On June 13, 2025, Kendrick was waived by the Rams. Four days later, Kendrick was re-signed by the team after clearing waivers.

Legal troubles

On October 16, 2023, Kendrick was arrested in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

for illegal possession of a concealed weapon. Police also found marijuana in Kendrick's vehicle.

References

External links

Clemson Tigers bio

Georgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendrick, Derion 2000 births American football cornerbacks American football wide receivers Clemson Tigers football players Living people Players of American football from Rock Hill, South Carolina Georgia Bulldogs football players Los Angeles Rams players