Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables is feeling better about the weakside position at linebacker.

The Tigers, who return to practice Monday after taking the last three days off, are playing several men there. Baylon Spector is battling it out with Kane Patterson for the starting spot, while James Skalski, Jake Venables and Keith Maguire are cross training there as well.

“We are good there. We feel good about that position in our group,” Brent Venables said.

Venables did indicate they can also slide Mike Jones over to weakside when they go to their nickel package out of their four-man front, sort of the way they used Dorian O’Daniel and Isaiah Simmons in the past.

Heading into fall camp, the weakside position was perhaps the area of the biggest concern for Venables, as his unit goes back to its more traditional 4-3 base this year. It’s not that the Tigers lack talent at the position, it is more about the experience than anything else.

Spector is the most experienced player at the position. Last year, he recorded the first two sacks of his career in the Tigers’ Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State, so he has shown plenty of promise and potential.

In the 30 games he has played to this point, Spector has recorded 53 tackles, including seven tackles for loss. He has also forced a fumble and recovered two of them.

Venables has said many times Spector reminds him of Ben Boulware due to his instincts and his fearless attitude. As a backup in 2019, he tallied 45 tackles, including six for loss and two sacks, while playing in all 15 games.

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