With Clemson’s defense trying to rebound from one of its worst performances of the season, Dabo Swinney was asked about the vocal leadership of that group and whether or not any of his players have made a point to take on that role this week.
The answer from the Tigers’ coach was terse.
“They’re all trying to, but somebody needs to be that alpha,” Swinney said. “We’re going to find out.”
Clemson came up small against Notre Dame last week in its first loss of the season, which came in blowout fashion. Part of the reason for the 35-14 setback was the Tigers’ normally resistant run defense had no answers for a Notre Dame rushing attack that churned out more than 5 yards a pop en route to 263 rushing yards, easily the most the Tigers have allowed all season.
It further contributed to a head-scratching year for a Clemson defense that came into the season with plenty of hype but has left much to be desired.
The Tigers still rank 14th nationally in run defense, but a front seven filled with next-level talent has rarely been the dominant group that many expected going into the season. Clemson returned every member of its two-deep along the defensive line from last season, including stars Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy. It’s helped the Tigers lead the ACC in tackles for loss, but Clemson is in the middle of the conference pack in sacks and is allowing a touchdown more per game than it did last season when it ranked second nationally in scoring defense.
With three new starters in the secondary, the back end has had its ups and downs in coverage for the nation’s 65th-ranked pass defense. But the run defense has shown more and more cracks of late, allowing more than 200 rushing yards to Florida State and nearly 10 yards a carry to Syracuse’s running backs in the previous two games before Notre Dame gashed Clemson.
According to Clemson’s coaches, the vocal leadership hasn’t been a strong suit among the defense with some of that group’s most boisterous players no longer around. Veteran linebackers and team captains James Skalski and Baylon Spector finished up their eligibility last year as did sixth-year safety Nolan Turner, a multi-year starter for Clemson on the back end.
First-year coordinator Wesley Goodwin said that doesn’t mean this year’s defense is completely void of it. He opined that fifth-year defensive end K.J. Henry is the most vocal of the group in that regard, but it’s largely a different kind of leadership on that side of the ball this season.
“I think we have guys that have great leadership qualities,” Goodwin said. “Probably missing a little bit of the vocal leadership from those guys. We lost a ton of experience that guys looked up to from Skalski, Spector, Nolan Turner and those guys. We have great leaders on our team. Not necessarily big vocal leaders. They’re more lead by example.”
Goodwin said he’s confident that his unit will respond appropriately Saturday against Louisville, though the Cardinals will test Clemson’s discipline with dual-threat quarterback Malik Cunningham bringing the nation’s 25th-ranked rushing offense into Memorial Stadium. He added it’s on the players and coaches to starting turning things around.
“We can pull it out of them as well,” Goodwin said. “Everybody’s on board with the process, and we’ll get their best this week.”
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