Clemson’s defense is facing off against a confident South Carolina offense this Saturday. The Gamecocks are coming off a dominant win over Tennessee, that featured 438 passing yards and six touchdowns by quarterback Spencer Rattler. Rattler, who has had an up-and-down season, has been finding his form as of late, and that means it will be up to the Clemson defense to exploit the weaknesses of the quarterback this weekend.
Linebacker Trenton Simpson, who is coming off an excellent performance of two sacks and a forced fumble against Miami, spoke to the media on Tuesday and detailed how the defense plans to prepare for an unpredictable South Carolina offense.
“They have a lot of good players,” he said. “They had a lot of players who showed up that week and had a great game, but it’s all about players and performance. Just making sure we limit Rattler and do our best to contain the run and make sure we stop the passes, that’s all we need to do.”
The North Carolina native is embracing the challenge that this historic rivalry presents. However, the Clemson defense is dialing in on forcing turnovers and picking up fumbles this week in practice, which is something the junior expressed is essential in combatting the South Carolina offense on Saturday.
“I definitely embrace the challenge and I know the defense does also,” he said. “We’re excited. Today is our Tuesday practice, and it’s one of those days, TA-NO-GA (“Takeaways/No Giveaways”) Tuesday. So, just focusing on getting the balls, just have to get a lot of turnovers this week, and try to force fumbles, and turn tips into picks. Just do as much as we can to help the offense get the ball back and win field position.”
The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder shared that a lot of what Clemson needs to do on Saturday is stopping the run game and pressuring Rattler. When Rattler is comfortable and has time, he has the ability to make plays. Simpson shared that it will be key to prevent Rattler from finding his rhythm in the game.
“We definitely have to focus on stopping Spencer, with him being the quarterback, making sure we get after him, send as many blessings and just make sure we have a great game plan to stop what he does best,” he said.
