Granted Christian Wilkins was the unanimous All-American at defensive tackle and deservedly so, but Dexter Lawrence’s value on the defensive line will be he hardest for Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables to replace.

Lawrence took up a lot of space, sometimes taking on triple teams, allowing guys like Wilkins and defensive ends Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant to have a lot of one-on-one matchups, which most of the time they won.

But Lawrence, and his backup Albert Huggins, have now moved onto the NFL, moving Nyles Pinckney up to the starting spot this coming fall. Here is breakdown on how the nose tackle position should look heading into fall camp.

Nyles Pinckney, Jr., 6-1, 300 pounds: Pinckney missed all of spring practice due to a pectoral muscle injury suffered during the 2018 season. He had surgery after the national championship game and sat out the spring to allow it to heal. He is expected back by the start of fall camp. Pinckney stepped up big time in the College Football Playoff and in the national championship game. After Lawrence was suspended due to the Ostarine controversy, Pinckney played more of a role as he helped clog up the inside against Notre Dame and then had two tackles, including a big stop of a fake field goal attempt in the national championship game against Alabama. The junior finished last season with 23 tackles, while playing in all 15 games. He had 4.5 tackles for loss and forced one fumble.

Xavier Kelly, Jr., 6-4, 270 pounds: Kelly has come a long way since he first stepped foot on campus in 2016. He overcame a moped accident that forced him to miss his freshman season. He then fell down the depth chart at defensive end before being moved to defensive tackle last year. The redshirt junior has always had a good attitude about everything and now he has put himself in position to become a major contributor on the defensive front. Kelly is coming off what head coach Dabo Swinney called his best spring. Kelly played in 11 games last year, while recording eight tackles and one tackle for loss. He was also credited with one forced fumble.

Etinosa Reuben, Fr., 6-4, 265 pounds: Reuben will be expected to play this year due to the Tigers losing so much up front to graduation and to the NFL Draft. He enrolled in school in January and participated in spring practices. He is still raw and is adjusting to the move inside after playing defensive end in high school. He has played just three years of football, but Reuben was still a first-team all-conference, all-district and second-team all-state player by the Missouri Football Coaches Association in high school. He won the Mr. Panther Award winner at Park Hill South, the most prestigious award presented by the program. He was nominated for the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive lineman or linebacker in Greater Kansas City Area. He finished 2018 with 62 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, including three sacks and he also recorded a safety. He finished his junior year with 55 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, including three sacks, two forced fumbles and one recovered fumble. He made first-team all-conference and all-district in 2018 and all-state honors.