Coming into the season, the excitement surrounding the defensive line was rather muffled, and for good reason. The group that had terrorized offensive lines in 2014 was all but gone and the pair of defensive ends that help carry Clemson to the national title game in 2015 were gone, too. The back to back years of significant losses paired with a pre-season injury to projected starter Austin Bryant made it look like the perpetually elite Clemson defensive line was going to be a weak spot for once.
Let’s review each defensive lineman’s performance in 2016:
Starters
Carlos Watkins, DT, 50 Total Tackles, 12.