Defensive End
Starters: Vic Beasley, Corey Crawford
Backups: Shaq Lawson, Tavaris Barnes, Ebenezer Ogundeko
Clemson has one of the deepest defensive lines in the nation and it starts with Vic Beasley. Beasley would have easily been a first round draft pick but he choose to come back for his senior season. He will compete for the most sacks in the country and can be the best defensive player in the country. Teams will game plan to negate his pass rush. Vic is a freak of nature though. His strength and speed make him next to impossible to stop.
Opposite of Beasely for most of the year will be Corey Crawford. Crawford hasn’t lit up the stat sheet but he is reliable. Crawford will make a few senior plays this season that will be the difference in winning or losing. He is suspended for the Georgia game but should come back as the starter.
Shaq Lawson and Tavaris Barnes are the backups. Lawson is a star in waiting and would start nearly anywhere in the country. Lawson could blossom into a national superstar this year. Barnes is a big and strong senior. He doesn’t have the talent of Beasley, Crawford, or Lawson but there shouldn’t be much of a drop off when he subs in. We should get a chance to see how Ebenezer Ogundeko has developed early in the year He is a freak athlete but is raw fundamentally.
Defensive Tackle
Starters: Grady Jarrett, DeShawn Willams/D.J. Reader
Backups: Carlos Watkins, Josh Watson
Clemson is as deep at defensive tackle as they are at defensive end. Grady Jarrett is the best of the bunch. He has the size and strength defensive coordinators salivate over. Jarrett takes the pressure off the defensive ends. Jarrett isn’t the only talented interior defensive lineman.
DeShawn Williams, D.J. Reader, Carlos Watkins, and Josh Watson are very talented. Williams and Reader will likely get the most playing opposite of Jarrett. Reader has been fully committed to football this offseason as he didn’t play baseball. He has All-American talent. Watkins is hungry after missing most of last season due to injuries sustained from a car accident. Watson is a savvy senior.
Linebackers
Starters: Stephone Anthony, Tony Steward
Backups: T.J. Burrell, Ben Boulware, Dorian O’Daniel, Kellen Jones
Stephone Anthony comes back as one of the best linebackers in the nation. Anthony should compete for the ACC lead in tackles this year. He is one of the most complete linebackers in the nation. Alongside Anthony will be Tony Steward.
Steward, a high profile recruit, has yet to have the opportunity to show his talent. After suffering a knee injury his freshman year he never has really been 100%. He enters this season at 100% with a chip on his shoulder. Steward is ripped and will perform well this season.
Clemson will use a 2 linebacker set majority of the time. When they use 3 at strongside linebacker will be TJ Burrell. Burrell is still unproven. He will be pushed by Dorian O’Daniel. O’Daniel is quick and athletic. Others that will get plenty of playing time are Ben Boulware and B.J. Goodson. Boulware is gifted and all over the filed when he is in. Kellen Jones also should factor into the defensive game plan. He is a practice all-star but has yet to do the same in games.
Cornerback
Starters: Mackensie Alexander, Martin Jenkins, Cordrea Tankersly
Backups: Garry Peters, Adrian Baker, Marcus Edmond
The cornerbacks for the Tigers this year will be inexperienced yet talented. Mackensie Alexander will be at the top of the depth chart. Alexander is a true cover corner that can shut down opposing receivers. Opposite of Alexander will be Martin Jenkins and Cordrea Tankersley. Jenkins will start and can play anywhere in the secondary. He’s also a good tackler. Tankersly grasped the starting role in spring but is now 2nd string to Martin. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t progressed; Jenkins was recovering from injury in the spring. Cordrea is an unknown but has developed well.
Backing them up will be Garry Peters, Adrian Baker, and Marcus Edmond. Peters is a senior that has shown flashes of top notch talent at times. Peters will miss the game in Athens but when he comes back he will compete to be the starting corner. Baker has unlimited potential but still needs to develop into a college corner. Edmond is still developing as well but should contribute.
Safety
Starters: Robert Smith, Jayron Kearse, Korrin Wiggins
Backups: T.J. Green, Jadar Johnson
The safety positions will be occupied by players that had a lot of time on the field last season. Robert Smith is the clear leader of the secondary and will start at strong safety. Smith came out of nowhere last year to start and has only improved. Expect him to be more of a playmaker this year. Jayron Kearse and Jadar Johnson will be at free safety. Kearse made some big plays last season but also got exposed at times. He should make far less mistakes this year. Johnson doesn’t have the playing experience but has proven to be solid in practice.
The nickel back position will be on the field the majority of the time. Korrin Wiggins will be the starting nickel back. He has coverage skills but the strength to be like another linebacker on the field. Kearse can also play nickel, too.
T.J. Green will also see time at safety. Green lacks the on field experience. He like some of the other young players in the secondary will have growing pains. And then there’s Travis Blanks. Blanks will likely redshirt for the year. The loss of his talent and experience will hurt. Blanks just hasn’t been able to fully recover from a knee injury and has been behind in preseason practice.
Special Teams
Kicker
Starter: Ammon Lakip
Ammon Lakip will have some big shoes to fill with the departure of Chandler Catanzaro. Catman was clutch. Lakip is an unknown. In limited time and in practice he has been accurate but how will he do on game day in close game. We may find out during the first game against Georgia.
Punter
Starter: Bradley Pinioin
Bradley Pinioin returns as the punter. Pinioin will help the Tigers with field positon. The ball rockets off of his foot and he gets great hang time. Pinioin will also handle the kickoff duties again. The majority of this kickoffs will be touchbacks.
Returners
Starters: Adam Humphries/Mackensie Alexander/T.J. Green/ C.J. Davison/ Charone Peake
Adam Humphries will once again handle the punt return duties. Humphries has the role because he secures the ball and normally makes the right decision when deciding to fair catch. He may also return kicks but likely won’t start out as one of the kick returners.
Mackensie Alexander, Charone Peake, C.J. Davison, and T.J. Green will be used to return kicks. Peake would undoubtedly return punts but since he is returning from an ACL injury he likely won’t start the season in the role. Alexander, Davidson, and Green will likely split the duties. Green returned kicks last year and likely get first crack in the role.
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