For the second year in a row, Marion Hobby will have to begin anew with a pair of first-year starters at defensive end.

Shaq Lawson was an odds-on departure for the NFL after this season, and he certainly produced like a high-round draft pick. Nationally, Lawson finished first with 25.5 tackles for loss and was tied for fifth with 12.5 sacks. In December, he declared for the draft.

To say Kevin Dodd had a breakout year would be an understatement. He entered the season with 21 tackles and three tackles for loss in 219 snaps over 24 career games. Two years ago, before his 92 snaps in 2014, the guy was pretty much an afterthought.+ the first two rounds of the NFL Draft. Not bad for two guys who were first-year starters.

Most of the candidates to replace Lawson and Dodd weren’t even on the team when Beasley and Crawford were still around.

Austin Bryant, the most experienced returning defensive end, had 23 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack as a freshman. Redshirt freshman Richard Yeargin had eight tackles and a sack. They’re expected to enter spring practice as the starters.

Dane Rogers is the elder statesman of the position group. As a redshirt sophomore, he appeared in seven games and recorded seven sacks with a tackle for loss. Chris Register, the former linebacker, played in just one game during his first year of action.

Clelin Ferrell, who was rated by Rivals as the No. 6 weak-side defensive end in the class of 2015, will be in the mix for a starting job. He’s expected to compete with Yeargin for the other starting spot.

Mid-year enrollee LaSamuel Davis is finally on campus and will benefit from time in the weight room. He’ll need to bulk up before he’s ready to contribute. Four-star Xavier Kelly enter the mix this summer. Rivals lists him as the No. 13 strong-side defensive end.

Before the freshman from Wichita gets to campus, Rogers and Register have a chance to start carving out a spot in the two-deep. This feels like a put up or shut up kind of spring for Rogers. For Register, the stakes aren’t quite as high, but the opportunity is just as big.

Defensive end figures to be one of the most talked about position once spring practice begins in a couple of months, and for good reason. It’s the biggest question mark for Clemson in 2016, followed by safety and cornerback.