Four years later, Clemson’s defensive line is taking on different identities to fight offenses. In sticking with the superhero theme, K.J. Henry preferred to call it something else.
“They showed us the ropes, so we know how to fight off crime,” Clemson’s veteran defensive end said. “We know how to do it the right way.”
They, of course, was a reference to the Power Rangers, the collective name adopted by college football’s most formidable defensive front. That group, which spearheaded the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense in helping Clemson capture its most recent national title in 2018, was headlined by future first-round draft picks Clelin Ferrell, Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins.
This year’s line, which again could be college football’s best in 2022, is calling itself The Avengers, a nod to Marvel Comics’ popular fictional team of superheroes. Henry admitted the idea came about after the group kept getting asked if it was going to take on an identity of its own.
“We felt like we had great excitement for the guys coming back,” Henry said. “A lot of hoorah for what we could do this year. Obviously we had a great example in the Power Rangers, but it’s time for something new. So that’s kind of what we came up with.”
The belief that this year’s defensive front could be just as formidable as what Clemson had a few years back is rooted in the fact that the Tigers are returning their entire two-deep up front on a defense that yielded the second-fewest points in the country. The Tigers also ranked in the top 15 nationally in sacks and tackles for loss.
And the group has its share of star power, too.
Clemson could have multiple defensive linemen taken early in the 2023 NFL Draft with end Myles Murphy and tackle Bryan Bresee the strongest first-round candidates. Murphy, a former five-star signee, led the Tigers in sacks and tackles for loss last season while Bresee, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2020 recruiting cycle, was a freshman All-American before a torn ACL cut his sophomore season short after four games.
Henry and fellow end Xavier Thomas, former blue-chip recruits themselves, also have next-level aspirations as does Bresee’s running mate on the interior, Tyler Davis, a three-year starter heading into his senior season. And while senior end Justin Mascoll doesn’t get as much fanfare, the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder, who’s started 11 games in his career, could also hear his name called during next year’s draft.
“We’ve got four guys at (defensive) end that, this time next year, are going to be getting ready to head off to the NFL,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “To know we’ve got all four of those guys back for one more year is a blessing. We’ve got a chance to be really, really special in that defensive line when we get everybody back together.”
Bresee will be limited this spring as he continues to work his way back from two injuries – the 6-5, 300-pounder also had offseason shoulder surgery – as will backup tackle Tre Williams (shoulder), leaving most of the reps on the interior to Davis, Ruke Orhorhoro, Etinosa Reubuen, Payton Page and DeMonte Capehart for now. With Bresee injured, Orhorhoro started the final nine games this past season and finished with 42 tackles and eight tackles for loss.
Clemson has nine defensive linemen back from last year’s team that have started at least one game, seven of those with multiple starts. The Tigers ranked seventh nationally against the run (96.3 yards allowed per game), ninth in sacks (3.23) and 15th in tackles for loss (7.1).
As for the specific Avengers identities each lineman will be adopting, Henry said he’s Captain America. He said he’d leave it to his teammates to reveal their characters, which seemed to happen via social media Wednesday night in response to Henry’s tweet asking the group to assemble.
Most of the linemen’s responses can be seen in the Twitter thread below:
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE 🗣 pic.twitter.com/6xRecm2Pcl
— KJ Henry (@thekjhenry) March 3, 2022
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