Before he departed Clemson to be the Jacksonville’s Jaguars new defensive line coach, Marion Hobby felt Dabo Swinney will allow Christian Wilkins to decide if he wants to continuing play at defensive end or move back inside to defensive tackle in 2017.
“Coach will leave it up to Christian as well,” Hobby said to The Clemson Insider prior to the Tigers’ 31-0 victory over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31. “It’s about where he feels more comfortable, but he will do anything. His energy level is awesome. He will play fullback if you want him, too. He will do it all. He loves the game so it will come down to what is best for Clemson and what is best for Christian.”
Hobby said the plan before he left for Jacksonville was to sit down as a staff and figure out what was best for the team. It was obvious Wilkins’ move to the outside after Austin Bryant went down in training camp last August with a broken bone in his foot turned out to be the right move.
Like he was on the inside, Wilkins became a dominating force on the edge as well. His performance against Auburn in the season opener played a huge role in why the Tigers’ limited Auburn to 87 rushing yards.
From there he took off. Wilkins played and started all 15 games at defensive end. He finished the year with 13 tackles for loss and had 3.5 sacks to go with his 17 quarterback pressures. He also had 56 tackles and deflected 12 passes.
“We always talk about putting our best on the football field, and he was another guy that stepped up as a defensive end,” Hobby said. “It’s about who are the best four? Who is going to run out there first? That’s what we sit down and talk about. Coach Swinney leaves it up to the defense first and then we present it to him.
“Christian has done a great job at defensive end. He had a great year. I thought he could help us at defensive end, but even on game days, he was able to surprise me with some of the things he was able to do at that position.”
Hobby knew Wilkins could help provide depth, but he did not see the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder becoming an All-ACC and All-American defensive end.
“I was going, Woo! Hey now! This guy here can play, and then from that point it was like, ‘I’m going to hold on to him,’” Hobby said.
Whoever replaces Hobby as the new defensive ends coach will want to hold on to Wilkins as well, but the new defensive tackles coach will have a say in it as well.
Wilkins was just as dominate as a defensive tackle during his freshman year. Not even a full-time starter in 2015, Wilkins had 84 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He also had 12 quarterback pressures.
“It you told Christian he was going back to a three-technique and Austin was healthy, he would be fine,” said Dan Brooks, who retired as Clemson’s defensive tackles coach following the national championship win against Alabama. “We just felt like you still have to get the very best on the field. To have what Austin, Christian and Clelin (Ferrell) have been able to do, and then what I have with Dexter (Lawrence) stepping up and Carlos (Watkins) and Scott (Pagano), plus both of us have young guys coming up behind them, it has been great.
“I know Coach Hobby will tell you the same thing. It’s not his guys, it’s not my guys. They’re our guys. It’s Clemson’s. That’s the reason we like to have fifteen defensive linemen and then we can get the best four out there and then who is the next best four and that is the way it will be.”
–Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
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