Last week was a rough week for Clemson’s front four on defense.

First defensive end Austin Bryant fractured part of his foot and had surgery. We soon learned he would be out for at least four weeks and would miss the first three games of the season. It wasn’t the kind of news the Tigers needed, especially considering the team’s already lack of experience and depth at the defensive end position.

A couple of days later, things got a little worse when freshman defensive end Xavier Kelly was involved in a moped accident. He suffered a few minor injuries, thank goodness, after he was hit by a car. Luckily, he is only expected to miss a week of practice, but that’s a week that could go a long way in his development this season.

Then on Thursday we learn defensive tackle Carlos Watkins could be in jeopardy of missing the Auburn game after he injured his wrist in practice. The All-ACC tackle did not play in last Thursday’s scrimmage and is expected to miss at least two weeks of practice.

That means, when the second-ranked Tigers visit the Plains in Auburn, Alabama in 12 days, there is a good chance they could be without two of their projected starters on the defensive front.

For most teams, this would be a devastating blow to their chances of winning a game on the road in an atmosphere and environment that is already hostile and difficult to win in.

But Clemson isn’t most teams.

Even with its lack of experienced-depth at defensive end, and even with losing an All-ACC tackle like Watkins, the Tigers are still very talented up front and will still be able to hold their own.

You do not record five straight top 10 recruiting classes and not build yourself a little nest egg. Sure losing experienced and veteran players can hurt a little, but the talent is still there. When you hear head coach Dabo Swinney say, “It’s the next man up” he truly means it. That’s why he and his staff recruit as hard as they do. That’s why he put together a great coaching staff that develops its players from the moment they step foot on campus.

Knowing they lacked some depth at defensive end, Marion Hobby and Dan Brooks realized they had a guy in Christian Wilkins who is talented enough to play both inside and outside and not miss a beat. So in the spring they crossed trained him at defensive end, hoping they would never have to use him there, but just in case they wanted to be prepared.

Granted, they had to go to the bullpen a little earlier than they wanted to, but he was ready. From all indications we are getting, Wilkins has been just fine. He has practiced exclusively at defensive end since last Tuesday, and by the end of the week he was dominating on the outside.

Of course, defensive coordinator Brent Venables had no issue moving Wilkins outside even with Watkins banged up on the sideline. Why not? Look how deep and talented the Tigers are at defensive tackle.

Scott Pagano, who started nine games last year and was very productive in doing so, will move up to start for Watkins, while freshman phenom Dexter Lawrence will take over for Wilkins. Pagano did an excellent job last season starting for D.J. Reader, who missed the first six games due to personal reasons. Pagano finished the season with 51 tackles and had two tackles for loss.

Lawrence is perhaps the biggest man in college football. He checked in earlier this month at 6-foot-5 and weighed 343 pounds. He reportedly has just 18 percent body fat. Since enrolling at Clemson last January, he has been nothing but impressive.

That was the case all during fall camp as well, as he has given everyone on the offensive line fits, including last week when he started working exclusively with the first-team defense.

When Clemson’s defense lines up for the first time against Auburn on Sept. 3, this is what it might look like across the front: Christian Wilkins (6-4, 305) starting at defensive end, Scott Pagano (6-3, 295) and Dexter Lawrence (6-5, 343) inside, and Clelin Ferrell (6-5, 260) on the other end.

That’s a pretty impressive looking defensive front.

During the off-season, all the talk has been about the offense and how many points they were going to score in every game. It’s understandable with Deshaun Watson back along with Wayne Gallman, Artavis Scott, Mike Williams, Jordan Leggett, Deon Cain, Ray Ray McCloud and Hunter Renfrow.

But Venables was very confident last week when he said, “We are going to have a good defense.” Keep in mind this comment came after all the injuries. He went on to say, “I feel really good about our team and about our defense contributing to that success.”

In other words, don’t worry about the defense. It will be just fine.