In a recent episode of his Always College Football show, ESPN’s Greg McElroy ranked the top 10 defenses heading into the upcoming season.
Clemson’s defense checked in at No. 8 on McElroy’s list, in front of Nebraska at No. 10 and Texas at No. 9.
McElroy shared some thoughts on defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin’s Clemson unit entering the 2024 campaign.
“This one I feel like should maybe make a case that it should be a little bit higher, maybe,” McElroy said. “Now, it’s not a guarantee, but I do think Clemson is poised to take a significant step this year. They do lose (linebacker) Jeremiah Trotter, and they will miss him drastically. But you bring back eight starters on the defense, and yeah, they miss a couple guys for sure. They’ll miss (cornerback) Nate Wiggins, they’ll miss Jeremiah Trotter. Those guys are difficult to replace. Nate Wiggins, a corner who ended up being a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens.
“But some of their best players from a year ago were freshmen. I think that’s a pretty significant step up. (Defensive linemen) Peter Woods, T.J. Parker, some of the guys in the back end like (safety) Khalil Barnes, (cornerback) Avieon Terrell – some of their best players were true freshmen last year. Which means next year, alongside some of the veterans like (linebacker) Barrett Carter, like veteran safety R.J. Mickens, like veteran defensive lineman DeMonte Capehart, they should be in a pretty good spot I think moving forward with the youth that should take a step and the veterans that are holdovers from the previous year. Plus another year with Wes Goodwin’s system, they should be in a good spot.”
Goodwin’s 2023 defense tied for the national lead in takeaways (28), defensive touchdowns (five) and pick-sixes (four). The production in the latter two categories tied school records set in 1990.
Clemson also ranked in the top 10 nationally in first downs allowed per game (14.2, third), opponent passing yards per game (173.2, eighth), yards per game (287.8, eighth) and interceptions (16, T-10th) in 2023.
You can see McElroy’s ranking of the top 10 defenses entering 2024 below, and hear his commentary on each of those units in the following video:
- Ohio State
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Notre Dame
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Oregon
- Clemson
- Texas
- Nebraska
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