Vic Beasley is opening up training camp today in Flowery Branch, Ga., as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Corey Crawford is hoping to make a roster spot in Washington, while Tavaris Barnes is in New Orleans hoping he can join C.J. Spiller and Stephone Anthony as a New Orleans Saints.
That’s three defensive ends, including the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, who will not be with Clemson when the Tigers open fall camp on Tuesday. Yet, despite having to replace those three veteran players from the nation’s No. 1 ranked defense, Marion Hobby is excited about what the 2015 season holds.
“The excitement around college football right now, and the excitement around Clemson, has gotten everybody’s blood flowing, so I’m excited about it,” the defensive ends coach said.
There is reason for Hobby’s optimism. One of the guys he has penciled in as a starter is a guy who perhaps would have started just about anywhere in the country last season. It just so happened he played behind a two-time First-Team All-American in Beasley.
In his two years as a reserve defensive end, Lawson has tallied 21 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and has 7.5 career sacks. He also has 79 tackles, including a position-high 44 last year.
“I think Shaq has started out really good, but the guy in front of him was pretty good,” Hobby said. “We have played him a lot in the two years he has been here. You could tell in the spring he was really anxious to get started. In every practice he was leading and teaching the young guys what to do, while at the same time being very effective and dominant at his own position.
“I’m excited about seeing where he is going to go with this.”
Then there is Kevin Dodd. He doesn’t have the same amount as experience as Lawson, but he has waited his turn behind Crawford and is coming off an impressive spring, which has his coaches excited about his potential.
“I thought a couple of years ago Dodd had one of the better two-days as anybody,” Hobby said. “He and Tavaris kind of battled it out, and with Tavaris being the older guy kind of got the nod at the end, but Kevin has played in pretty much every game that he has dressed.”
Dodd has played in 24 games at Clemson, including in 12 games last season.
After Dodd and Lawson, however, there is a big drop in experience and some might say in talent. Ebenezer Ogundeko was dismissed from the team back in May following his arrest in credit card fraud, which did not help matters.
That leaves Clemson with a lightweight in Martin Aiken (6-2, 225) and a redshirt freshman in Chris Register (6-2, 245) backing up Dodd, while another redshirt freshman in Richard Yeargin (6-4, 225) is Lawson’s backup. True freshman Albert Huggins (6-3, 280) could also help with depth on the outside.
“If you are not a starter, and you have never started, you are a backup. So they are all in the same category,” Hobby said. “They are going to have to fight for those jobs. I let them know coming out of the spring that nothing is solidified, they are going to have to work.”
And work is what the two starters have been doing. Dodd was raved by both head coach Dabo Swinney and defensive tackle D.J. Reader during the ACC Football Kickoff earlier this month for what he has been doing since earning the starting spot, while Lawson’s work can be viewed on twitter just about every day.
https://twitter.com/Shaq_Lawson90/status/626794664855736320
Though some might think there will be a drop off in production between Beasley and Lawson, Hobby just chuckled at the notion.
“Vic is a 245-pound speed guy, Shaq is a 270-pound power guy that has speed,” he laughed. “Shaq is probably a little sturdier against the run just because of his physical size, where Vic was an elite pass rusher.
“Both of them play with great motors and understand the game very easily. It is going to be interesting to see what (Lawson) turns into. I think Shaq is a true defensive end, where Vic is a hybrid guy. I think that is the difference in them.”
And that’s enough to get anyone excited about Clemson’s defensive ends.