Clemson is tasked with replacing several starters from last year’s defense, including A.J. Terrell, Tanner Muse and K’Von Wallace in the secondary, but no void will be harder for the Tigers to fill than that left by Isaiah Simmons, the unanimous All-American and 2019 Butkus Award winner who is expected to be a top-10 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
While Clemson has a few candidates to take over for Simmons at the nickel/SAM position, redshirt sophomore Mike Jones Jr. is the frontrunner to step into the starting role there this season, and fifth-year senior linebacker James Skalski liked what he saw from Jones in that spot this spring.