Clemson faces another former Tigers defensive coordinator

For the second week in a row, Clemson will face a defensive coordinator who previously coached at Clemson.

Troy defensive coordinator Vic Koenning gets the task of trying to slow down the Tigers’ high-powered offense after Auburn’s Kevin Steele did a good job guiding Auburn against Clemson last week.

Koenning coached at Clemson from 2005-08.

“Coach Vic is a heck of a coach, and he did a lot of good things here,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “It was a challenge going against him a lot of times out here on the practice field with a lot of the things that they do and he has had a long successful career at a lot of really good places.”

Joseph honored by ACC

Kendall Joseph believed he was going to be a playmaker on Clemson’s defense this season despite making less than a dozen tackles as a reserve in 2015. The sophomore linebacker received confirmation in his first career start Saturday at Auburn.

Joseph led the Tigers with 10 tackles and three tackles for loss, and also recorded a sack and quarterback hurry in the 19-13 win.

The former Belton-Honea Path star was named ACC Linebacker of the Week.

“It felt really good. You feel like you’re ready, but you never really know until you get out there and see,” Joseph said. “It felt really good to go out there and play hard and make an impact for my team.”

He would have played a bigger role on Clemson’s defense last year if not for injuries. Joseph suffered a shoulder injury during fall camp and sustained a concussion in November that slowed him.

Struggling to stay healthy made Saturday even more special for Joseph.

“When I was going to warm-ups, I just kind of walked around the field and I was praying and really just appreciative that it was full circle,” Joseph said. “This time last year I was playing, but I wasn’t healthy. Thankfully right now, I’m healthy and hopefully that’ll continue. I was really appreciative of the moment.”

MORE HONORS

Clemson sophomore guard Taylor Hearn was also honored by the ACC for his play at Auburn.

Making his first career start, Hearn graded out at 90 percent overall, including 98 percent on pass plays. He was named the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week.

Hearn played all 81 offensive snaps and finished with four knockdown blocks while not allowing a sack.

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Clemson faces another former Tigers defensive coordinator."