Clemson spring preview: How will Tigers defense replace Isaiah Simmons, AJ Terrell?
As Isaiah Simmons, A.J. Terrell and other key pieces from Clemson’s 2019 defense are at the NFL combine this week, the 2020 version of the Tigers are starting spring practice.
Clemson is down six starters off of last year’s defense, including three of the four members of its secondary.
Here is a position-by-position breakdown of the Tigers defense with spring practice set to begin Wednesday.
Defensive line
This position group could go from arguably the weakest link of Clemson’s defense last season to the biggest strength in 2020, even with one-time starter Logan Rudolph leaving the program. Tyler Davis and Nyles Pinckney are back at defensive tackle after being named All-ACC last season. Jordan Williams is also back after playing an important role as a backup in 2019. In addition to the returners, the Tigers have some highly rated freshmen coming in that could make an immediate impact. Bryan Bresee was ranked the No. 1 overall recruit in the country for the class of 2020 by the 247Sports Composite rankings, while Demonte Capehart was rated the No. 5 defensive tackle in the country. Both players should provide depth up front.
As for defensive end, Justin Foster and Xavier Thomas are the likely starters, particularly if Thomas can stay healthy and out of trouble. The junior missed three games last season with a concussion and was suspended for the first quarter of the national title game for a violation of team rules. Behind those two are K.J. Henry and Justin Mascoll, who both played in every game last season and were key reserves. Clemson also signed the top defensive end in the country in Myles Murphy, who will be on campus this spring.
Watch this interesting storyline: Can Xavier Thomas stay healthy and out of the doghouse and finally live up to his potential?
Linebackers
Clemson is losing the most dominant player on its defense and one of the best in the country in Isaiah Simmons. The Kansas native led the Tigers in tackles each of the past two years and is projected to be a top 15 pick. Mike Jones Jr. is the most likely candidate to fill in for Simmons, but he will have his hands full. Simmons was arguably the most versatile player in college football, lining up at linebacker and safety, in addition to rushing the passer. Don’t be surprised if Venables relies on more than one guy to try to fill that void, but Jones appears to be in position to land the majority of those snaps.
The Tigers are also losing Chad Smith, who started 14 games last season and was named the defensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl. Smith was solid, finishing fourth on the team with 80 tackles. Jake Venables and Baylon Spector are the most likely candidates to take Smith’s spot. James Skalski is the only returning starter at linebacker and should be one of the best in the ACC after finishing with 105 tackles a year ago.
Watch this interesting storyline: Will Clemson try to fill the void left by Simmons with one guy or will Brent Venables use several different players for the different roles Simmons had?
Secondary
The leaders and most experienced group on Clemson’s team will have several new faces as starters A.J. Terrell, K’Von Wallace and Tanner Muse are all gone. Still, the Tigers have some experienced talent returning. Derion Kendrick excelled in his first year playing cornerback and should be one of the best in the ACC as a junior next season. And Nolan Turner was viewed as a co-starter at safety. He made the game-clinching interception in the Fiesta Bowl. That leaves two open spots in Clemson’s secondary — one at cornerback and one at safety.
Mario Goodrich, Sheridan Jones and Andrew Booth are the favorites to land the other cornerback spot, while Lannden Zanders, Jalyn Phillips and Joseph Charleston will compete for the other safety spot.
Watch this interesting storyline: Who exits the spring as the starters at cornerback and safety? Either way, don’t be surprised if the battles carry over into fall camp.
