A year ago, Clemson had the best defense in the country. Then the Tigers said goodbye to stars like Stephone Anthony, Vic Beasley Jr. and Grady Jarrett. Now, Clemson once again has among the best units in the country -- second overall, according to ESPN’s defensive efficiency metric.
This might seem like a minor miracle, given Clemson’s myriad losses on that side of the ball from 2014, but as SB Nation points out, it was the one guy Clemson kept that makes all the difference, and it might be time to start looking at Brent Venables as the nation’s best defensive coordinator.