Clemson has reached the College Football Playoff the past three seasons, winning the national championship in January 2017 and playing for a title the year before. None of those teams appeared as stacked on paper going into a season as Dabo Swinney’s 2018 squad, which returns 62 lettermen — the most in school history.
“It’s a different deal for me in that I really haven’t had a team like this in nine years as a head coach,” Swinney told The Athletic this spring. “This year is the first team I’ve had where I really feel like at every position we have talent, we have experience, we have depth, we have character and we have leadership. We have all five of those components.
“That’s a good spot to be in.”
Indeed, there might be just one program in the country, Alabama, that wouldn’t love to trade places with the juggernaut Swinney has built at Clemson.
The Tigers, 82-15 since 2011, have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to reload each year. The breakout 2015 squad that lost to Alabama on the final night of the season did so a year after losing star defensive linemen Vic Beasley and Grady Jarrett to the NFL. The 2016 team that beat the Crimson Tide in Tampa had to replace six starting defenders who turned pro early. And in 2017, Clemson’s first team without all-time great quarterback Deshaun Watson made it back to the Playoff (losing to Alabama in the semifinals).
But 2018 began in entirely different fashion for the Tigers when D-linemen Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant opted to return for their senior seasons despite high NFL draft projections. They join rising junior Dexter Lawrence, arguably the most coveted of the bunch, in forming what could be one of the best front fours the sport has ever seen.
Their goal is to be “THE best,” Ferrell said. Mind you, Clemson’s defense finished tied for first nationally in sacks last season and second nationally in yards per play allowed (4.27).
Swinney has spent the past several years playing the “no respect” card, first when the public was slow to acknowledge Clemson’s ascension and then in response to doubters who thought the Tigers would backslide post-Watson. This year, for a change, the Tigers must deal with the widely held assumption that they’re going to be great.
“Not losing that edge is something that’s going to be really huge for us,” Ferrell said. “I hope nobody in here thinks they’re good enough or they ain’t got nothing to work on, because they’ll get exposed out there.”
Biggest on-field question
All Kelly Bryant did in his first season as Clemson’s starting quarterback was succeed a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, Watson, and lead the Tigers to 12 wins and a third consecutive ACC championship. Less than a year later, however, the rising senior will enter preseason camp in a fight to retain his job.
Not that he agrees.
“Definitely, I feel like it’s my job,” Bryant told The Athletic.
Maybe, but that’s not going to stop Tigers fans from clamoring for decorated true freshman Trevor Lawrence, the nation’s top-rated overall recruit on 247Sports’ Composite Rankings. The lanky 6-foot-5, 205-pound quarterback from Cartersville, Ga. — where he broke Watson’s state records for passing yards and touchdowns — enrolled at Clemson in January and wasted no time dazzling practice observers with his cannon arm.
Then came the Tigers’ April 14 spring game, when 50,000-plus spectators and an ESPN audience saw Lawrence throw a 50-yard touchdown to Tee Higgins on his second pass attempt and finish 11-for-16 for 122 yards. Conversely, Bryant struggled to an 8-for-15, 35-yard performance.
“Our culture is built around no entitlement,” Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said. “Kelly knew that even after all the success he had last year that he’s going to have to come out and compete again this year, especially at the quarterback position, where you’ve got some high-profile guys coming in.”
Bryant has a huge leg up in experience and command of the Tigers’ playbook. Though Lawrence is mobile in the pocket, Bryant is a more dangerous rusher, leading the team last season in rushing yards gained (before sacks) with 884. Clemson certainly felt his absence when Bryant, already playing with an ankle injury, missed the second half of its Oct. 13 game at Syracuse with a concussion. The Tigers suffered their only regular-season loss that night.
But few would argue Bryant was an elite passer as a junior. His 7.0 yards per attempt ranked 70th nationally, and he threw just 13 touchdown passes in 14 games. He endured a miserable night in Clemson’s 24-6 Playoff loss to Alabama, finishing 18-for-36 for 124 yards and two interceptions.
And yet, shortly after the spring game, Bryant was named Clemson’s Male Athlete of the Year at the school’s annual “Clemmys” award show. It’s truly hard to imagine that such a distinguished player would be in jeopardy of losing his job. Only the coaching staff knows whether the new guy is a real threat to surpass him before the season opener.
“Everybody always wants to be curious about the new thing, but that comes with it,” Bryant said. “I’m here. Everybody wants to write me off, but I don’t feel like I’ve done anything to raise any questions.”
“It’s a different deal for me in that I really haven’t had a team like this in nine years as a head coach,” Swinney told The Athletic this spring. “This year is the first team I’ve had where I really feel like at every position we have talent, we have experience, we have depth, we have character and we have leadership. We have all five of those components.
“That’s a good spot to be in.”
Indeed, there might be just one program in the country, Alabama, that wouldn’t love to trade places with the juggernaut Swinney has built at Clemson.
The Tigers, 82-15 since 2011, have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to reload each year. The breakout 2015 squad that lost to Alabama on the final night of the season did so a year after losing star defensive linemen Vic Beasley and Grady Jarrett to the NFL. The 2016 team that beat the Crimson Tide in Tampa had to replace six starting defenders who turned pro early. And in 2017, Clemson’s first team without all-time great quarterback Deshaun Watson made it back to the Playoff (losing to Alabama in the semifinals).
But 2018 began in entirely different fashion for the Tigers when D-linemen Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant opted to return for their senior seasons despite high NFL draft projections. They join rising junior Dexter Lawrence, arguably the most coveted of the bunch, in forming what could be one of the best front fours the sport has ever seen.
Their goal is to be “THE best,” Ferrell said. Mind you, Clemson’s defense finished tied for first nationally in sacks last season and second nationally in yards per play allowed (4.27).
Swinney has spent the past several years playing the “no respect” card, first when the public was slow to acknowledge Clemson’s ascension and then in response to doubters who thought the Tigers would backslide post-Watson. This year, for a change, the Tigers must deal with the widely held assumption that they’re going to be great.
“Not losing that edge is something that’s going to be really huge for us,” Ferrell said. “I hope nobody in here thinks they’re good enough or they ain’t got nothing to work on, because they’ll get exposed out there.”
Biggest on-field question
All Kelly Bryant did in his first season as Clemson’s starting quarterback was succeed a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, Watson, and lead the Tigers to 12 wins and a third consecutive ACC championship. Less than a year later, however, the rising senior will enter preseason camp in a fight to retain his job.
Not that he agrees.
“Definitely, I feel like it’s my job,” Bryant told The Athletic.
Maybe, but that’s not going to stop Tigers fans from clamoring for decorated true freshman Trevor Lawrence, the nation’s top-rated overall recruit on 247Sports’ Composite Rankings. The lanky 6-foot-5, 205-pound quarterback from Cartersville, Ga. — where he broke Watson’s state records for passing yards and touchdowns — enrolled at Clemson in January and wasted no time dazzling practice observers with his cannon arm.
Then came the Tigers’ April 14 spring game, when 50,000-plus spectators and an ESPN audience saw Lawrence throw a 50-yard touchdown to Tee Higgins on his second pass attempt and finish 11-for-16 for 122 yards. Conversely, Bryant struggled to an 8-for-15, 35-yard performance.
“Our culture is built around no entitlement,” Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said. “Kelly knew that even after all the success he had last year that he’s going to have to come out and compete again this year, especially at the quarterback position, where you’ve got some high-profile guys coming in.”
Bryant has a huge leg up in experience and command of the Tigers’ playbook. Though Lawrence is mobile in the pocket, Bryant is a more dangerous rusher, leading the team last season in rushing yards gained (before sacks) with 884. Clemson certainly felt his absence when Bryant, already playing with an ankle injury, missed the second half of its Oct. 13 game at Syracuse with a concussion. The Tigers suffered their only regular-season loss that night.
But few would argue Bryant was an elite passer as a junior. His 7.0 yards per attempt ranked 70th nationally, and he threw just 13 touchdown passes in 14 games. He endured a miserable night in Clemson’s 24-6 Playoff loss to Alabama, finishing 18-for-36 for 124 yards and two interceptions.
And yet, shortly after the spring game, Bryant was named Clemson’s Male Athlete of the Year at the school’s annual “Clemmys” award show. It’s truly hard to imagine that such a distinguished player would be in jeopardy of losing his job. Only the coaching staff knows whether the new guy is a real threat to surpass him before the season opener.
“Everybody always wants to be curious about the new thing, but that comes with it,” Bryant said. “I’m here. Everybody wants to write me off, but I don’t feel like I’ve done anything to raise any questions.”
