Clemson eventually kicked it into gear over the weekend to stay unbeaten with a road win over Boston College. And with it, the Tigers officially reached the halfway point of their regular season.
With the first six games of the Tigers’ season in the books, The Clemson Insider is handing out midterm grades for Clemsons’ performance so far in all facets. After grading the offense, each position on defense is up next.
Defensive line
As expected, this group has led the way for the defense through six games.
Clemson’s defensive front began the season being touted as perhaps the best in college football. While the unit hasn’t always been dominant, it’s been plenty good enough even without the services of some key contributors.
Clemson leads the ACC in tackles for loss (eight per game), and only James Madison is allowing fewer rushing yards on average than the Tigers (63.7) in all of college football. But the pass rush has been inconsistent. Teams have turned to more of a quick passing game at times to try to offset the impact of Clemson’s formidable front, but even when offenses haven’t done that, generating pressure with the front four has been difficult at times, which hasn’t helped a secondary that’s struggled to hold up in coverage at times.
Clemson has also been playing shorthanded up front for much of the season. Star defensive tackle Bryan Bresee has only played in half of the Tigers’ games so far while fellow tackle Tyler Davis also missed two games. And Xavier Thomas’ presence coming off the edge was missed until the Tigers’ veteran defensive end notched two sacks in just six snaps during his season debut over the weekend.
Barring any setbacks, the unit is expected to be whole the rest of the way, which could take an already good defensive front to elite status. Grade: A-
Linebacker
The second level has quietly put together a solid season to this point, especially considering the talent and experience it had to replace going into it.
One of the big questions for Clemson during the offseason was how was the defense going to replace the production and leadership provided by James Skalski and Baylon Spector? Yet the position hasn’t skipped much of a beat following the veterans’ departures.
Three of Clemson’s top five tacklers are linebackers with the best of the bunch, Trenton Simpson, leading the way. Simpson’s speed and athleticism have transitioned well to the Will position as he leads the Tigers with 39 tackles. He also has two pass breakups.
Speaking of freakish athletic ability, Barrett Carter is right behind Simpson with 29 tackles as first-year coordinator Wesley Goodwin has used the sophomore in a variety of ways at the Sam/nickel spot. Carter also has 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, six quarterback pressures and four pass breakups.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has given the Tigers’ coverage a boost in the middle of the field as Skalski’s replacement, tying with Carter for the second-most pass breakups on the team so far. His backup, Keith Maguire, has 26 tackles, tied for fourth-most on the team.
There have been the occasional assignment busts that aren’t all that surprising given the youth and relative inexperience Clemson is breaking in here. But all things considered, the group has been as solid as could be expected. Grade: A-
Safety
Perhaps the best way to describe the performance on the back end of the defense so far is solid with room to improve.
Clemson doesn’t have a group of safeties that lack for physicality. Tyler Venables (28), Jalyn Phillips (26) and R.J. Mickens (24) have combined for 78 tackles, and Andrew Mukuba (14 tackles) has been steady there when he hasn’t been repping at corner. Mickens and Mukuba have also combined for two of the Tigers’ six interceptions this season.
But coverage has been an issue at times, particularly when the Tigers go man. There’s also been the issue of attrition.
Mukuba, Venables and Mickens have all missed at least one game because of injuries, though all three are expected to be available for Saturday’s game against Florida State. Grade: B
Cornerback
The task of replacing a pair of all-ACC corners has been an unenviable one for Goodwin – and one that’s gone about as expected considering some of the youth the Tigers are breaking in at the position.
Clemson ranks 11th in the ACC and 95th nationally in pass defense (256 yards per game) with many opposing offenses targeting the Tigers’ corners in coverage. The Tigers have already allowed 10 pass plays of at least 30 yards and 25 of at least 20 yards, tied for second-most in the conference.
Things seemed to bottom out last month in a double-overtime win at Wake Forest when the Demon Deacons averaged nearly 17 yards per completion and threw for six touchdowns. It hasn’t helped that senior Sheridan Jones (stinger) has been out of the lineup recently, and another veteran among the group, Fred Davis, was benched following that Wake Forest game for performance. Simply put, the corners haven’t consistently been able to make enough plays on the ball once it’s in the air.
But the group has put together a couple of bounceback performances, which has helped improve its grade. With sophomore Nate Wiggins and true freshman Toriano Pride Jr. helping hold down the fort, Clemson has allowed no more than 245 passing yards in its last two wins, making for two of the three lowest passing outputs for its opponents this season. Clemson has also given up just one touchdown through the air during that span. Grade: C
Overall
Clemson has shown an ability to make offenses one-dimensional. That one dimension, though, has been a thorn in a young secondary’s side at times. Still, Clemson ranks in the top 25 nationally in yards and points allowed, the back end seems to be gradually progressing, and the Tigers are getting healthier just in time for the back half of their schedule. Grade: B+