When Tony Elliott first saw Brent Venables show a three-man look this past spring, he thought, “Oh Lord, this is going to be hard.”
He was right, it was.
Clemson’s co-offensive coordinator described Venables bringing Isaiah Simmons from the rafters in the indoor practice facility, with exotic blitzes coming from everywhere.
“It made us get better,” Elliott said.
It’s made Clemson’s defense one of the nation’s best again. The Tigers (8-0, 6-0 ACC) enter this week’s game against Wofford ranked fourth nationally in total defense and sixth in scoring defense. All of this after replacing seven starters from last year’s unit which led the nation in scoring defense.