With fall camp about to wrap up, Clemson is still facing some unknowns along the interior of its defensive line.

Markus Strong, Amare Adams and Andy Burburija are three players you feel confident about being major players during the coming season. However, no matter which two run out there first, defensive tackle is a position that the Tigers like to rotate in an effort to keep those guys fresh.

That means a fourth is going to have to emerge, and with the Tigers already dealing with injuries at the position, there are some serious depth questions. So much so that Dietrick Pennington has been moved over from offensive line to add another body to the room.

Transfer Kourtney Kelly is recovering from an ACL tear suffered during the spring, and Hevin Brown-Shuler is out for the season after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. There’s also the undisclosed injury that has kept Vic Burley sidelined for most of camp.

Kelly was a guy who was expected to contribute. Losing him was a big blow. The hope has been that Burley would finally take that next step in his fourth year with the program, but the likelihood of that happening decreases the more time he misses.

Champ Thompson might very well be thrust into action at some point. Thompson, who is entering his third season, logged more than 100 snaps last season. With Burley out, he was getting some run with the ones and twos during fall camp.

During the team’s first scrimmage last weekend, Dabo Swinney seemed pleased with what he saw from the group, but did he see enough to ease the concerns that led him to call the defensive tackles a “huge unknown” a month ago?

“A lot of competition in that group,” Swinney said. “A lot of competition.”

Fifth-year senior Devarrick Woods transferred in from Texas State over the summer after the team learned of Brown-Shuler’s diagnosis, though there are some questions about his readiness to be a major player at this level. Last season at Texas State was his first at the FBS level. He did appear in 11 games, recording 16 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Sophomore Mahki-Williams Lee and freshman Kam Cody are probably both still a year away.

How the rotations shake out remains to be seen, but with some of the injuries the team is dealing with, Strong, Adams and Burburija must step up and deliver. Adams is still an underclassman himself, but the staff has seen enough in camp to believe the former five-star is ready to make an impact.

“Amare’s had a good camp, as well,” Swinney said. “He is a high-level talent. Just continuing to develop.”

Strong comes over after having spent three seasons at Oklahoma. After playing in a reserve role for the Sooners last season, Strong arrived at Clemson with something to prove.

Then there is Burburija, who just arrived this summer, who might be the most intriguing of the bunch. The former JUCO All-American has quickly turned heads since joining the team and might very well end up earning a starting role with the Tigers.

“You notice him. He is a load in there. He is a load,” Swinney said of Burburija. “He’s done some good things live.”

However, the top of the depth chart isn’t where the questions lie. It’s whether the Tigers can develop enough functional depth behind those top three guys to help get this defense back to playing to the standard.