Defensive end Justin Mascoll spoke to the media on Wednesday, Aug. 31, ahead of Monday’s game versus Georgia Tech.
Mascoll, a redshirt senior, enters the 2022 season with 64 tackles over 833 career snaps, with 19 of those tackles coming in the 2021 season.
With Xavier Thomas out for the next few weeks, the defensive unit will have to rely on players like Mascoll to step up and maintain the standard of what the Clemson defense has been known to be in recent years.
However, with the talent of Myles Murphy and Mascoll at the defensive end position, Clemson’s defense looks to remain physical and a significant threat versus Georgia Tech.
“I feel like this is a great opportunity for me,” he said. “I feel like this is another challenge for our defense. Xavier is a great player. That’s my friend. That’s my brother. We are going to miss him a lot, but it’s just going to be a challenge for us to hold it down and just compete and we’ll have him back in a few weeks after that.”
Mascoll reflected on making the transition from fall camp to game week. He regards his role as a leader on the defense as influential in guiding some of the newcomers on the team.
“Really just for me, being a leader and stuff like that,” he said. “Really keeping the young guys in that game-week mentality. Right after fall camp, we hop straight into game prep for Georgia Tech.”
Mascoll reiterated much of the sentiment expressed by KJ Henry earlier in the day, that the coaching changes on the defensive side were relatively seamless for both the staff and the players.
He expressed how both co-defensive coordinators Wesley Goodwin and Mickey Conn prioritized their relationships with each player on the defense.
“I really feel like there wasn’t much change,” Mascoll said. “Wes is a great defensive coordinator. Coach Conn is a great defensive coordinator. They work really well with us, kind of having that understanding and that perspective.
“They’ve already been here, so they understand us as players.”
In facing Georgia Tech on Monday, it seems that the team’s attitude has shifted. With this revitalized attitude, the team expressed that they are looking forward, not behind. Mascoll spoke on behalf of the defense expressing their desire to look forward and get excited for what’s to come on Monday.
“We are past talking about it as a group,” he said. “We are ready to go out there, compete and play.”
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