Clemson Tigers College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– It’s Clemson, so the offense will be more than fine even with a few question marks around the skill guys. The defense is about to go from great to special – at least that’s the hope.
The Tigers worked through a slew of injuries and a whole lot of talented young new parts getting their feet wet. They still finished No. 1 in the ACC in total and scoring defense, they were outstanding against the run, and they kept everyone but Ohio State, Notre Dame and Virginia under 400 total yards.
A few good parts are gone – LB Mike Jones left for LSU, star CB Derion Kendrick took off for Georgia, and DT Nyles Pinckney is now a Minnesota Golden Gopher – but nine starters are expected to return. There’s a whole lot of talented depth and more young prospects ready to rise up, too.
– Eight of the team’s top ten in tackles for loss and nine of the top 12 in tackles were underclassmen. Jones is gone, but James Skalski has been a nice middle linebacker over the last few years with a whole lot of tackles and a steady leadership presence.
230-pound Baylon Spector is about to become a much bigger national deal – he led the team with 65 stops with 10.5 tackles for loss on the outside – and Trenton Simpson is a fast, active young option ready to step in for Jones.
– The line has a burgeoning superstar in Bryan Bresee, a former top recruit who showed flashes of his next-level greatness in an all-star freshman year. He’s a 300-pounder at one tackle, 300-pound Tyler Davis is an NFL starter at the other tackle, and with Myles Murphy leading a big, deep group of ends, good luck doing much against this group when it’s healthy.
– Losing Kendrick hurts. He’s an NFL-caliber lockdown corner, but … boo hoo. This is still one of the best secondaries in the nation starting with the safety tandem of Nolan Turner and Lannden Zanders – they’re two very big, very sound hitters – and with a slew of potential All-ACC and NFL corners in Sheridan Jones, Andrew Booth and Mario Goodrich.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Clemson Football Schedule Analysis