Clemson’s depth and experience on the edges of its defensive line are envious.
Myles Murphy, Xavier Thomas, K.J. Henry, Justin Foster and Justin Mascoll have combined for 3,429 snaps and 43 starts entering the 2021 season. Those are just the defensive ends. Throw in Bryan Bresee, a freshman All-American last season, and multi-year starter Tyler Davis on the inside, and it’s easy to understand why Clemson’s defensive front has expectations of being one of the nation’s best this fall.
But while the ends are virtually interchangeable, the depth on the interior isn’t as fortified. And it’s not nearly as seasoned.
In fact, Davis and Bresee are the only defensive tackles on the roster who’ve started a game, and none of the others have more than 169 career snaps to their name. That number belongs to Darnell Jefferies, a redshirt junior who’s been in the program for the three years.
Yet that doesn’t necessarily mean defensive coordinator Brent Venables is panicking at the thought of who to turn to when Bresee and Davis need a breather.
Clemson has its share of options behind its top two interior defensive linemen. Jefferies is one. Ruke Orhorhoro and Tre Williams are two others.
Orhorhoro, a third-year sophomore, likely would’ve been a bigger part of the rotation up front last season if not for a knee injury. Orhorhoro was listed as Davis’ backup entering the season before sustaining the injury in the season opener against Wake Forest.
He logged just 33 snaps over four games, but Orhorhoro is back healthy and spent fall camp getting mostly second-team reps. He’s performed well enough that he could be the first defensive tackle off the bench when Clemson opens its season against Georgia on Sept. 4.
“He had an awesome summer and looks like a million bucks,” Venables said. “He’s been playing really quick and fast and has played really strong. He’s still got an incredible ceiling. I expect him, the more he plays, to continue to get better and really help us at that position when we need some help.”
Williams played just two games as a true freshman last season but put together a solid camp. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney even praised the 6-foot-2, 300-pounder for his performance in the Tigers’ first fall scrimmage.
True freshman Payton Page is the biggest body Clemson has on the interior at 335 pounds and could possibly work his way into the rotation with a spring and fall camp under his belt as an early enrollee. So could sophomore Etinosa Reuben and redshirt freshman DeMonte Capehart, though both have some catching up to do after being slowed by injuries during camp.
Venables said he likes the athleticism of the collective group as well as the improvements they’ve made fundamentally. Now it’s a matter of performing at a high enough level day in and day out to where Venables trusts them to be on the field for meaningful snaps.
“Those other guys have done really, really well. Made improvement,” Venables said. “Just got to get them to be consistent, everyday players as far as showing up, being healthy and all those little things it takes to be a good player.”
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