As Myles Murphy assessed how Clemson’s defensive line performed Saturday, the Tigers’ defensive end rattled off a long list of players that impressed him. Once he was done, nearly every first- and second-teamer had been mentioned.
“Everybody stood out today,” said Murphy, a freshman All-American a season ago. “Got in the backfield, kind of just retraced the entire offensive line into the backfield and got pressure on the quarterback.”
It seemed fitting given just how interchangeable the Tigers are becoming at one of the deepest and most talented positions on their roster.
Clemson returns every starter along the defensive line, seven linemen in all who have started at least one game and five ends that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he considers starters, so it’s no secret the Tigers expect to have one of the nation’s most formidable defensive fronts this fall.
The group got its first live reps over the weekend during the Tigers’ first scrimmage of fall camp, one in which the defense got the better of the offense inside Clemson’s indoor practice facility. Regardless of which personnel groupings it had on the field, the line set the tone for the defense’s performance as expected, Swinney said.
“I was super, super impressed with those guys (Saturday),” Swinney said. “What I was hoping I would see is no dropoff, and it didn’t matter really how I ran the scrimmage as far as the groups, I didn’t see any dropoff. I thought those guys really all played well.
“We created some pressure. Some (tackles for loss). Some sacks. I thought both groups played to the standard that we talked about. That’s fun to see defensively.”
With Xavier Thomas and Justin Foster back in the fold — both seniors opted to return to Clemson for another season — the Tigers can go two- and sometimes three-deep with experience at defensive end and have rotated accordingly throughout camp. Thomas, Foster, Murphy, Justin Mascoll and K.J. Henry have bounced back and forth between the ones and twos and continued to do so in the scrimmage.
Senior Tyler Davis and sophomore Bryan Bresee, another freshman All-American, are entrenched as the top interior linemen. Swinney also mentioned fellow defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro for his performance in the scrimmage, noting Orhoro, who’s spent most of camp getting second-team reps, is at a point in his development where “he shows up” every time he’s on the field.
Clemson seems to be building more depth on the inside even with some defensive tackles unavailable for the time being. Redshirt freshman DeMonte Capehart and sophomore Etinosa Reuben were held out of the scrimmage with undisclosed injuries, but Tre Williams and Darnell Jeffries made their presence felt in the scrimmage while true freshman Payton Page also got some reps.
Orhorhoro and Williams are both healthy again after injuries derailed their seasons early a year ago. Swinney referred to Williams’ performance Saturday as “awesome.”
“It was good to see Tre get in there and make some plays,” Swinney said. “Darnell had a nice play.”
Clemson will need to solidify more of that depth on the interior, but the weekend scrimmage went a long way in confirming the Tigers don’t have too many concerns when it comes to their defensive line.
“We’ve got a lot of talented guys there,” Swinney said, “and I like the chemistry I’m seeing from that group.”
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