It is no secret that Clemson’s defense has had its fair share of injuries, the most recent being defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, who sustained a season-ending ACL tear in the Tiger’s double overtime loss to NC State last weekend. While the loss of both Tyler Davis and Bryan Bresee early in the season is hard to swallow, veteran safety Nolan Turner has no doubt his teammates will take it in stride with a “next man up” mentality.
“Guys are going to step up,” Turner said on Tuesday. “We have plenty of guys that can play at d-tackle, and you know with him and TD [Tyler Davis] down, guys are going to step up: Tré [Williams], Ruke [Orhorhoro], ET [Etinosa Reuben], you know, all of those guys. I’m excited to watch them come in and compete, you know, it’s the next man up, and they’re very capable of being great players and they’ve shown that playing the last few weeks, so I’m excited to see those guys come in and play.”
Head coach Dabo Swinney has already seen the effects of guys stepping up in the absence of Bresee and Davis. With Tré Williams and Ruke Orhorhoro stepping into the starting roles at d-tackle, Swinney is pleased with the progress they have made so far.
“They’ve all gotten better,” Swinney said. “Obviously Ruke has gotten some great experience, Tré’s had his moments. He’s a little undisciplined at times, [but] a first-year player that didn’t really get to play last year. He’s one of those guys that’s incredibly active and you see him a lot, but he’s not always in the right spot and can be undisciplined with his eyes and things like that, so he’s still becoming a more disciplined guy within the scheme, but as far as just being disruptive and all that… he’s a natural.”
Payton Page and Ruke Orhorhoro have also continued to catch Swinney’s eye and will contend for playing time at the d-tackle position this season.
“Payton Page is getting better and better. He’s still a true freshman and he’s got a lot to learn, especially when you’re going against a team like this, but I’m really pleased with ET. I think he’s making a move. He’s making some good steps forward and he’s quietly, even last week, he’s really started to show some good signs in the last couple of weeks, so he’s a guy that I’m very encouraged by.”
While it is disappointing not having what he consider’s to be two of the top defensive tackles in the country in Bresee and Davis this fall, the breadth of experience these younger guys are getting is huge, something Swinney believes will benefit his team far beyond this season.
“Yeah, it’s disappointing that you don’t have a Tyler Davis or a Bryan Bresee,” Swinney said. “These are two of the best players in the nation, but moving forward, the experience that we are getting with these guys, those guys will be back next year, that’s gonna pay off for us. For guys like ET, because he’s just not played a lot of football, he played two years of high school football, then he’s been hurt, he’s had all kinds of issues since he’s been here, so he’s finally now healthy, but then getting the opportunity. Now with injuries, he’s taking advantage of it, so I’m encouraged with ET. I’m excited to see how he’s going to develop over the rest of the season.”
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
