By Will Vandervort

CLEMSON — If there is one moment to pick when eighth-ranked Clemson turned things around defensively this season, it happened with 10:19 left in the fourth quarter of the Tigers’ victory over Georgia Tech on Oct. 6.

With Clemson up seven points at the time, and the Yellow Jackets backed up to their one-yard line, Spencer Shuey shot the gap from his middle linebacker position and brought Georgia Tech running back Orwin Smith down in the end zone for a safety. The play brought the 81,000 fans in Death Valley to their feet and gave the Tigers the momentum they needed in a 47-31 victory.

The play also earned Shuey the starting spot at middle linebacker, a position he has not surrendered since.

“Every time they put me in there, I try to capitalize on that,” he said. “I try to prove that they put me in there for a reason and it is not a mistake. I think that was definitely the turning point for me in the season.”

Since his insertion into the starting lineup, the Clemson defense has not surrendered too much either. Over the last three weeks, the Tigers have improved in every category defensively.

In the first six games of the year, Clemson (8-1, 5-1 ACC) was yielding 445.5 total yards, 202.7 on the ground, 242.8 through the air and 27.3 points a game. Over the last three games, the Tigers are giving up 346.0 total yards, 111.6 on the ground, 234.3 through the air and 16.7 points per game.

Coincidence?

“I don’t know. Stephone (Anthony) was great when he played there too,” Shuey said earlier this week. “It’s not just me, it’s everyone. Everyone has a better understanding of the defense after getting a few games under their belt.

“We just feel more comfortable with what we are doing.”

That may be true, but it’s hard not to argue that they got comfortable once Shuey started putting them in the right positions to make plays. The middle linebacker is the quarterback in Venables scheme. It’s his responsibility to line the defensive front up and to call the right defense, something he takes great pride in.

The junior from Charlotte, N.C., spends up to 10 extra hours a week watching film so he can understand an offenses tendencies and how he can check out of a call should he spot a weakness in a certain matchup.

“There is a good bit that goes into it,” Shuey said. “You have to set the front every time and be able to recognize formations and know the weaknesses of our defense when it comes to certain calls.

“You have to be able to make defensive line movements. You have to make calls to try and eliminate those weaknesses. Watching film is very important for trying to get those things down.”

Shuey has done a good job of getting his team in position to make plays. The Tigers front seven has consistently put pressure on the quarterback the last three games. After registering just seven sacks the first six weeks, Clemson has recorded 11 in its wins over Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Duke.

“He has never been great, and when I say great, I mean Ray Lewis great,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “But (Shuey) has really been the model of consistency in front of my own eyes.  Dating back to some of our very first scrimmages in the spring, when he has been given the opportunities, he has been able to perform.”

It did not look like Shuey was going to be given those opportunities early on. There were three games—Auburn, Florida State and Boston College—that he played 10 snaps or less, including five at BC. But in the second half against Georgia Tech, a team that was freezing the linebackers with all of their motion and ball tricks, Shuey came in and helped slow the Yellow Jackets down.

In 24 snaps he record four tackles, including the safety. Since being named a starter, he is averaging 52 snaps a game, while recoding 25 tackles, including three for loss.

“Usually the really good ones are (a model of consistency),” Venables said. “You need to be that. When you have those qualities at middle linebacker, you can have the nice ebb and flow of what you are doing.”

With Shuey’s emergence, Venables says he has a problem all coaches love to have, two quality players at middle linebacker. Though he isn’t starting, Anthony is still averaging 23 saps per game and he is being productive when he is in there.

“I really like our situation,” Venables said. “I have two really fine middle linebackers and when they both have got in there both have produced and given us a chance to win.”

And both seem to be doing it with a great attitude. Venables says Anthony has handled being moved back with great class and character, and Shuey has handled the move by continuing to work hard so he doesn’t lose his job. In other words, they are both competing and pushing the other, which is what all coaches want.

“Every day, we are competing and everyone is competing,” Shuey said. “That’s how you get better every day. Everyone is doing their own job. We are trying to play perfect defense and have no mistakes and make the extra plays when they present themselves.”

And in the last three games, that’s exactly what Clemson’s defense has been doing. Is it a coincidence it started when Shuey became a starter?