If people think Clemson is satisfied with winning the 2016 National Championship, then they have not met Tigers’ linebacker Kendall Joseph.

The junior says if someone on the team is not hungry enough to want to win another championship then they will not play.

“That has to be within you and what you are made of,” Joseph said. “Guys that are not hungry, they will get exposed quickly and their role will decrease. It is a new year, and as athletes, you are competitive regardless and if you are not, you will not be on the field much.”

Joseph is seeing that hunger in Clemson’s linebacking room where guys like Shaq Smith, Chad Smith, James Skalski and even freshman Logan Rudolph all act as if they have something to prove.

“Yes, they were happy to win a national championship, but they want their role to increase,” Joseph said. “They are here to play football. They are trying to get on the field. It comes down to playing football and when you get those pads on, you are ready to roll.”

Joseph, along with strongside backer Dorian O’Daniel, are the leaders of a unit Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney says is perhaps the best on the team.

“We have that maturity within our group,” Joseph said. “We laid the foundation, like the guys before me did, and the young guys got to see how Ben worked and what it takes to be a great linebacker. With what Coach (Brent Venables) demands, all the work we put in in that weight room, we just take pride in our linebacker segment.

“We know really working hard and watching enough film will take care of everything else.”

So far, Joseph has seen the fire in guys like Shaq Smith and Chad Smith as well as Skalski.

“A lot of guys are going to step up to the plate,” he said.

Clemson’s defense was much improved in 2016 as compared to the 2015 team, and with seven returning starters from a unit that finished ranked No. 8 in total defense and No. 10 in scoring they think they can be even better this time around.

“I think with the way we worked last year and how hard we worked in practice, I think we will continue that this spring,” Joseph said. “Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell and Van Smith, guys like that, they just know what it takes and we are ready to reload and the spots that need to be filled will be filled. We are concentrating on just working hard.

“We want to be better than we were last year. We are competing against ourselves and trying to get better. We are keeping the standard set high, like guys like Ben, Stephone (Anthony) and guys like that have set.”

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