Clemson defenders filling up NFL Combine
In a way, Charone Peake feels a little lonely here this week.
Not because he’s the only Clemson player here at the NFL Combine. Far from it. There are eight Tigers at the event, but Peake is the only one who plays offense.
“I’m kind of the loner, but I’m proud to see all those guys,” Peake joked Friday.
Ohio State is the only team in the country with as many defenders at this year’s Combine.
“Yeah, it’s cool. It’s like a big family reunion,” nose tackle D.J. Reader said. “We’ve all been kind of away from each other for a little bit, so it’s been good to see all my guys back together and having fun.”
Reader is joined by defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd, safeties Jayron Kearse and T.J. Green, cornerback Mackensie Alexander and linebacker B.J. Goodson.
“It’s a great thing and a great experience to have my brothers here with me,” Goodson said.
Lawson, Dodd and Alexander are the Tigers’ headliners this week, as all three could be selected in the first round, and Reader is not shy about reminding the two ends that they are beneficiaries of his work in the middle of the defensive line.
“I give them crap about it all the time, but it’s all love,” said the 6-foot-3, 327-pound Reader, who is likely a mid-round selection. “I love those guys. They’re a lot better at what they do than I am, so I am glad I had two great ends out there with me. I know that if I take up two (offensive linemen) they are free one-on-one. They can just do what they do. I love those guys. They are great players. They are passionate players. It’s fun being out there with them.”
Lawson, 6-3, 269, and Dodd, 6-5, 277, combined for 25 sacks and 48 1/2 tackles for loss this season, and Lawson is expected by some analysts to be a top 10 selection.
“I want to be the best player to ever play the game, hopefully be a Hall of Famer one day,” he said Friday. “Just be the best I can be.”
Lawson is so highly regarded that Dodd has been asked this week if he thought he owed many of his gaudy numbers to Lawson for taking extra attention on the defensive line. That argument goes both ways, Dodd pointed out.
“Of course we helped each other,” he said. “I’d be crazy if I sat here and said Shaq didn’t help me, and Shaq would be crazy if he said I didn’t help him.”
Dodd had 11 tackles and four sacks in Clemson’s two CFB Playoff games, which is ultimately what convinced him to join Lawson as an early entry into this year’s draft.
“There wasn’t more that I could prove, I didn’t think,” Dodd said. “I was complete, and I was ready to go.”
With so many Tiger defenders going to the NFL this season, it’s natural to wonder if Clemson will have a big dropoff from a defense that finished No. 10 in nation last year, but the former Tigers don’t think so.
“I’ve got faith in those boys,” Lawson said. “I feel like they are going to have a strong defense next year, and they’re going to feed off their offense a lot. I feel like they’ll have another undefeated season and win it all this time.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 10:37 PM.