Clemson’s defense has a chance to be special.

That’s not exactly a secret as the unit was one of the most dominant across the nation in 2021 and has picked up where it left and then some this spring. That was on display during Clemson’s Orange & White Spring Game on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

“As far as defense, this has been a spring that I’ve liked very much,” junior defensive end Myles Murphy said following Saturday’s game. “There’s something on defense that’s really just clicking. I know last year we had a great season defensively and this spring, something is just clicking as far as just the d-line. We have a lot of chemistry together. We know how to play with each other.”

Clemson’s offense was far from being at full strength and the team was without multiple starters and key depth pieces on its offensive line, which allowed for players like Murphy, who posted three sacks in the first half alone, to wreak havoc in the backfield all afternoon.

Both the Orange & White teams accounted for 13 total sacks and 22 tackles for loss.

While Murphy indicated that something had clicked for Clemson this spring, it’s rather obvious that Clemson has added a different element to its defense since both James Skalski and Baylon Spector exhausted their remaining eligibility: speed.

“Last year we had Baylon and Skalski and those guys knew the game like the back of their hand,” Murphy said. “They knew how to run the playbook, study the other team’s offense all day, every day and they just knew exactly how to play. The linebackers we have now, they’re very athletic, and they have very good instincts. They know how to react to certain movements on the o-line and they know how to react to different routes and coverage(s). I have great expectations for them and I know they’re going to be good.”

Murphy was later asked point-blank if Clemson’s defense is good enough to win a national championship.

“It is,” he said without much hesitation. “I do believe that. Honestly, just the chemistry we have on the d-line and in the secondary, Coach Wesley (Goodwin) does a good job communicating the coverages, and the blitzes that we’re gonna be running this year. They do a great job staying in the playbook, knowing what to do when the play is called. I do believe that this is a championship-caliber defense.”

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