ESPN analyst Greg McElroy ranked the top 10 defenses in college football entering the 2025 season.
McElroy slotted Clemson at No. 10 on his list, but says it was hard not to put the Tigers in the top five.
“I think they’re going to be really, really strong [across the board,]” McElroy said. “I love their personnel that returns. I love the possible jump that you might get from Sammy Brown in his second full season. I love the addition of Tom Allen and the scheme that he’s going to be bringing to Clemson.
“This should be one of the best groups in the country, and frankly, not having them in the top five was tough. But because there isn’t as much coordinator continuity, that just remained a tiny question mark for me as they head into this year. But I am bullish on Clemson in so many ways, and I love that team this year. I think they are a legitimate national championship contender.”
Speaking of the aforementioned Allen, McElroy called Clemson’s first-year defensive coordinator “one of the best hires of the entire offseason” and a “major coup” for Dabo Swinney’s program following his highly successful 2024 campaign as Penn State’s DC.
“He has a really strong reputation,” McElroy said. “I love the way he disguises his schemes. I love the way he puts players in position to create their own shot in the pass rush, and he’s got a couple fun players that he’s gonna have some fun with, being able to move them around and identify weaknesses along the opposing offensive line. That defense at Penn State last year finished seventh in total defense and eighth in scoring defense. They were excellent in tackles for loss. They were excellent in sacks. So, if you look at the addition of Tom Allen at defensive coordinator, that was a major coup.”
As for Allen’s unit, it all starts up front with a loaded defensive line led by a pair of projected top-10 NFL Draft picks in T.J. Parker and Peter Woods.
“[T.J. Parker] was, at times, single-handedly winning games for the Clemson Tigers,” McElroy said. “I think of a few performances from last year where he was just destroying the opposing offensive line. The right tackle was having a nightmare job trying to protect, and it was because TJ Parker, when he was on the field, they were a completely different defense. … In this scheme, he has a chance to bring home a bunch of national defensive awards if he can reach his potential this upcoming season. I think he’s extremely gifted, and if that’s your bell cow, you’re in great shape defensively.
“On the other side is Peter Woods. He was kind of forced to play defensive end last year because they were so thin at defensive end. But now, because of some of the additions that they’ve made and some of the advancements that some of their young players have made, I expect him to slide back into more of his natural position on the interior. He’s got great speed, he’s got great power and he can be extremely disruptive on the interior to team up with DeMonte Capehart, who’s really solid. Got banged up a little bit from time to time last year, but I think him, along with Woods, could be one of the best tandems at defensive tackle in the entire country.”
McElroy reiterated that he’s “extremely bullish” on Clemson’s potential defensively.
“I look at how they’ve addressed that depth, and the person that they brought in to run the defense, and I am extremely bullish on what Clemson might be this upcoming season,” he said.
You can see McElroy’s top 10 defenses below and hear him break down each of those units in the following video:
No. 10 – Clemson
No. 9 – Oregon
No. 8 – Michigan
No. 7 – Oklahoma
No. 6 – Alabama
No. 5 – Notre Dame
No. 4 – Georgia
No. 3 – Penn State
No. 2 – Ohio State
No. 1 – Texas