By Kaila Burns-Heffner.

Clemson has a huge void to fill at defensive end with the loss of record holding, NFL bound Vic Beasley, Corey Crawford and Tavaris Barnes, but luckily the Tigers have had veteran talent backing up Beasley at defensive end.

Defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd have big shoes to fill coming into the 2015 season, but their names keep rolling off the tongues of the coaches as players that have been impressive so far in spring practice.

“Dodd has been a very, very consistent player for us all spring,” said head coach Dabo Swinney on Monday.

Swinney also had high praise for Lawson, mentioning he has shown up this spring to work and he is ensuring that his presence is known.

Dodd is confident in working alongside Lawson and he believes they work together like their former teammates Crawford and Beasley.

“We compliment each other well, said Dodd. “Sometimes we work together; we know what we’re going to do.”

Last season, Dodd tallied eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback pressures over 92 snaps. He also appeared in 12 of the 13 games despite having so much veteran talent ahead of him on the depth chart.

However, Dodd’s path to the leadership position he holds today was not so easy. The redshirt sophomore started off at Hargrave Military Academy, but came to Clemson for the 2012 football season, where he played sparingly in eight games. In 2013, Dodd played in four games before he suffered from an injury that ended his season. He received a medical redshirt that year and worked hard to get back to where he was before he was injured.

“It was tough. I was just fighting myself most of the time,” he said. “Just to push yourself and keep that grind going, that was the hard part.”

Although he has recovered and improved, Dodd is still not satisfied with his performance. He looks up to Beasley as motivation for where he would like to take his talent.

“I’m a pretty good pass rusher, I’m one of the best I think. I’m just not content,” he said. “I want to get better. I want to be a Vic Beasley. I want to be that go-to-guy. I want to be that dominant person when it comes to third down and its time to sack him.”

Dodd is determined to grow as a player because he knows that his leadership role carries a lot of responsibility.  He wants to be the guy that his teammates can count on to get the job done, so he is working hard on his technique while simultaneously helping lead the younger members of the team.

“I’m going to hold my end and that’s what I’m focusing on and showing the younger guys. I can’t preach something that I’m not doing, so I make sure that I do my stuff and I lead the younger guys on,” said Dodd. “The rest of my team is on my back and they’re counting on me.”