By Kaila Burns-Heffner.
Clemson’s 2014 senior class left their legacy on the football program and have achieved countless awards and honors. One of their greatest achievements is winning the most games in their career in Clemson history. This group of seniors impacted the program and helped to lead the team to success, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Tigers ended the season as the No. 1 total defense in the nation, and eleven members of the senior class started on defense.
Out of the seven Clemson players that were invited to the NFL Combine, six were members of the defense. The list includes: Vic Beasley, Grady Jarrett, Tavaris Barnes, Corey Crawford, Stephone Anthony, and Garry Peters. The only offensive player who was invited to attend the combine was punter Bradley Pinion.
With the departure of such great talent, one may wonder if the remaining members of the defense can carry on the same level of success as their seniors did.
The answer is yes.
While many seniors were on the starting lineup for the 2014 season, there were also quite a few highly skilled underclassmen who got a lot of time starting and playing as well.
Redshirt freshman Mackensie Alexander started at cornerback in all 13 of Clemson’s games this season and racked up 21 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble. The Football Writers Association named Alexander a first-team freshman All-American after his incredible performance in the 2014 season. Alexander is dedicated to perfecting his craft, and there is no doubt that he will continue to be an impact player in the secondary for Clemson.
Returning on the defensive line are veteran defensive tackles Carlos Watkins and D.J. Reader, along with defensive end Shaq Lawson. Watkins, Reader, and Lawson all served as backups to their senior, NFL combine bound teammates and got some playing time in most of the games this season.
“The defense is going to be fine. The secondary is going to be even stronger. You’ve still got Ben Boulware, you’ve got B.J. Goodson, then you have Jabril (Robinson), and you have D.J. (Reader). D.J. and Carlos (Watkins) are going to have to step up now that we aren’t here,” said graduated defensive tackle DeShawn Williams.
“But man, I’d put my money on them. They should win the championship next year.”
Lawson appeared in all 13 games and totaled 34 tackles, 11 tackles for a combined loss of 51 yards, and had 3.5 sacks for a loss of 32 yards. Lawson will step up to fill the void that record-breaking Vic Beasley will leave in his absence.
The linebacker position also has a large talent pool to pull from for the coming season. Rising junior linebacker Ben Boulware and rising redshirt senior B.J. Goodson will likely start, while T.J. Burrell, Dorian O’Daniel, and Korrin Wiggins will be in the mix too.
“The physicality part wont be a problem. There’s a bunch of good young talent and we’re going to have to count on a bunch of them here pretty quick,” said defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
Boulware proved that he could handle the starting role multiple times this past season, and he made critical plays that aided in the success of the team. Boulware started in two of the 13 games he played in and racked up 40 total tackles. He also had five tackles for loss, one sack and an interception for a touchdown in the Russell Athletic Bowl against Oklahoma. In that game, Boulware started for Stephone Anthony, who was suspended for the first half.
Clemson’s defense has not been left in the inexperienced and rookie players, but rather talented athletes who have proven that if given the opportunity, they can step up to complete the job. Although legendary Clemson defensive players have graduated and moved on to the next step in their life, the remaining members of the team are just waiting for the opportunity to leave their mark.