SYRACUSE – The Clemson Tigers defensive front is proving their worth, and it’s a freshman leading the way. Defensive end T.J. Parker was dominant in Syracuse, and it’s become a normality on Wes Goodwin’s defense.

Through four weeks, Parker was incredibly disruptive with 8.5 tackles for loss. The sack numbers weren’t representative of his impact, but it came to fruition against the Orange.

Parker had a team-high two sacks of the five Clemson made on the day. Taking on a mobile quarterback in Garrett Shrader, containing his legs was crucial and it’s something Parker keyed on during the week’s prep. Shrader finished the game with a measly 15 carries for 24 yards, a far cry from his dynamic performances to start the year.

“On film, Shrader, he runs the ball a lot and the offense runs through him obviously…we did a good job of containing him today…once we stopped the run, it opened up a lot of things,” Parker said.

For freshmen, it’s often hard to get used to the physicality of the game but Parker made the transition easily. That’s no easy task, especially for a defensive lineman where the strength is most necessary.

Parker and the defense was tested late against Syracuse when the Clemson offense slowed down, but Wes Goodwin’s unit was stubborn in the waning moments. It’s something the Tigers defense is prepared for, and it showed by forcing an interception from Shrader.

“We want the offense to do good but if they don’t, have a turnover, that’s cool. Our job is to go stop them and that’s what we did. Our mentality is still the same. We’re going to be dogs on the field, and do what we’ve got to do to make sure they don’t score so that’s what we did,” Parker said.

Syracuse was averaging over 44 points heading into this week, but mustered only 14 against Clemson. Parker was a large part of that shutdown and he’ll be doing so for a long time as a Tiger.