Nick Eason will eventually do what he’s being paid to do at his alma mater and coach what he believes can be the top defensive line in college football next season.
“We’re loaded up front, especially at the defensive tackle position,” Eason said. “Just got to keep them healthy. If we stay healthy, we’ll be the No. 1 defensive line in the country.”
But that’s not Eason’s first order of business with the group that he’s inheriting. Because, as Eason put it, “players don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Eason was hired to Clemson’s staff in early January after Clemson coach Dabo Swinney tapped him to replace Todd Bates as defensive tackles coach. Eason, an All-ACC defensive lineman during his playing days at Clemson from 1999-2002, spent last season in the same role at Auburn. He will also serve as the Tigers’ defensive run-game coordinator.
But having been on the new job for less than two months, Eason recently said getting to know his players on a personal level is his top priority.
“This initial stage just getting here is getting to know them as people,” Eason said. “I talked about it earlier, but that’s what’s most important – hearing their stories, knowing their family situations and where they come from. Those things are important. Then we’ll get into the ball next.”
Clemson is returning its entire two-deep along a defensive front that helped the Tigers finish second nationally in points allowed and seventh against the run this past season. Clemson also ranked in the top 15 in sacks and tackles for loss.
The Tigers did it without the services of star defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (torn ACL four games in) for much of the season, but he’ll be back for his junior season. Eason will also get to work with linemen Tyler Davis, Ruke Orhorhoro, Tre Williams, Etinosa Rueben, Payton Page and DeMonte Capehart, who were all part of the rotation on the interior.
Sack leader Myles Murphy is back at defensive end, a position boosted by the returns of K.J. Henry and Xavier Thomas this offseason. It’s a group full of players aspiring to one day get to the highest level of the sport the way Eason did when he was playing.
A fourth-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2003, Eason, a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl XLIII-winning team, played for three teams in 10 NFL seasons. He also spent seven years coaching in the NFL before taking the job at Auburn last year.
Eason believes his next-level experience is even more of a reason to get to know the person first and the player second.
“It’s really about establishing that relationship with them for me because, hey, I played in the NFL,” Eason said. “I played here at Clemson at a high level. I’ve coached in the NFL. I’ve coached at the collegiate level for a year now. So I have a lot of resources and knowledge within my mind to share with them, but they have to know that I care about them first. That’s been more important to me.
“They seem to be really excited about me being here, and I’m excited to have an opportunity to coach such great men.”
Photo courtesy of the USA Today Sports Network
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