The Clemson Insider gives a scouting report on every player on Clemson’s summer depth chart. We will break down what the player does best, what he needs to work on, how he compares to other former players at his position and where he fits on the Clemson roster.
Player name: Tre Lamar (6-3, 240)
Player position: Linebacker (middle)
Years left of eligibility: 3 years
Current rank on depth chart: First Team
Player productivity so far: Lamar enrolled in January 2016 and made an impact defensively and on special teams for the National Champions. In 2016 he Produced 22 tackles while playing in 15 games. He contributed with seven of his tackles on special teams. Lamar posted four tackles and a sack in his first game as a Tiger at Auburn.
What player does best: Lamar is a downhill ballplayer with very good speed. He plays violently and has good instincts and knows how to get to and find the football.
What player needs to work on: The biggest issue Lamar had was learning the defense. Brent Venables scheme is not an easy defense to learn, especially for a linebacker. He asks his linebackers to do a lot so it is hard for a young backer to play a big role as a freshman.
Productivity of former Clemson players at the position (first year and last):
Spencer Shuey, 2012: He ranked second on the team with 93 tackles, six tackles for loss and had one sack. He also broke up one pass.
Stephone Anthony, 2013: He led the Tigers with 131 tackles, including 13.5 tackles for loss. He also had 4 sacks and broke up 5 passes, while recording the game-saving interception in the 2014 Orange Bowl win over Ohio State.
Stephone Anthony, 2014: He led the Tigers with 90 tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss. He had 2.5 sacks and broke up four passes. He also had one interception.
Ben Boulware, 2015: He ranked second on the team with 138 tackles, had eight tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He also broke up seven passes and had two interceptions, including one in the 2016 Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma.
Kendall Joseph, 2016: He ranked second on the team with 124 tackles, but tied for the team lead with 135 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He had 3.5 sacks and 16 quarterback pressures as well. He also had one interception.
What can you hope for? You hope Lamar becomes the star linebacker everyone hopes he would become when he came out of high school as a 5-star backer that was ranked as the No. 2 linebacker in the country.
What is a realistic expectation? Well, considering every middle linebacker since Venables came to Clemson five years ago has had at least 90 tackles and has ranked one or two in overall tackles, it is realistic to expect Lamar to do the same.
What about the future? With three years of eligibility left, plus his size and physical attributes, Lamar has a bright future ahead of him and is the perfect fit at middle linebacker for Brent Venables.