When Dan Brooks was recruiting Christian Wilkins out of Suffield Academy in Springfield, Conn., the defensive tackle’s No. 1 concern – what were his chances he could contribute right away?
“During his recruitment, that was the whole deal. He wanted to know how he could get to play early enough and I told him you have to learn what to do,” Brooks said.
So Wilkins went to work. He made it a point to know everything he could about how to play the defensive tackle position at the college level. In his senior year, he tallied 71 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and eight sacks. It made him one of the more sought after defensive tackles in the country.
Rivals rated Wilkins as the No. 21 player and No. 4 defensive tackle in the country coming out of high school.
“He did a great job before he ever got here learning what to do, and then it was a matter of my job of teaching him how we like to do it at Clemson,” Brooks said.
It did not take the 6-foot-5, 315-pound tackle too long to pick up the way Clemson does it. He immediately got on the field and despite being a true freshman he became an impact player on the defensive front.
Wilkins finished his first year with 84 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He earned All-ACC honors as well as being named a First-Team Freshmen All-American.
“He has been a really impressive guy,” Brooks said. “He took to coaching and then was able to go out and perform at a very high level. He is very athletic for a guy his size. We have been really impressed with what he has brought to the team.”
Wilkins ability to come right in and perform helped Brooks build some depth at defensive tackle, which was a concern after losing Grady Jarrett, DeShawn Williams and Josh Watson to graduation the year before. Then, before the season started, D.J. Reader left the team to deal with personal issues and wasn’t back on the roster until the mid-point of the season.
Reader’s departure left the Tigers with Carlos Watkins, Scott Pagano and Roderick Byers so Wilkins’ insertion into the lineup, and his ability to be productive right out of the gate, paid big dividends for the Tigers in the end.
“We felt like he could help. We felt like he was one of those guys,” Brooks said. “Some guys you feel like might need a little bit of time and then you have some guys where you feel like he will be able to come in and contribute.
“We thought Christian could. Did we envision him doing as much as he had? That’s hard to project. It really is. But he has been a major factor for us even though he did not start. That tells you a lot about where our program is because we have a lot of good players there.”
Brooks said Wilkins brought a lot to the table in 2015 because he learned the whole deal. He could play nose, he could play tackle, and he played in their dime packages.
“He did a lot for us,” Brooks said.
Wilkins can also catch the football. The most memorable play from his freshman season came in the Orange Bowl when he ran a wheel route on a fake punt and then caught the ball for a 31-yard gain down the near sideline. He adjusted his body while the ball was in the air to catch the Andy Teasdall pass, then he tight roped down the sideline, nearly scoring on the play.
“He did a great job of getting small and skinny. It’s amazing a 330 pounder can do that. He’s an athletic dude,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.
Wilkins catch-and-run jumped started the Clemson offense and got the Tigers rolling in its 37-17 victory over No. 4 Oklahoma.
“I have really been impressed with his transition from high school to college football,” Brooks said. “He has been really coachable.”
If you haven’t already order your copy today of Guts & Glory – Tales of Clemson’s Historic 2015 Football Season to help you celebrate and remember this special season.
