SUFan44
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As was the case with the offense, returning starters in bold.
Defensive Line
DE1 - Alton Robinson (Sr.)
DE2 - Kingsley Jonathan (Jr.)
DT1 - McKinley Williams (Sr.)
DT2 - Kenneth Ruff (Sr.)
DT1 - Josh Black (RJr.)
DT2 - Curtis Harper (RSo.)
DE1 - Kendall Coleman (Sr.)
DE2 - Brandon Berry (RSr.)
Other Options - Jake Pickard (RSr.), Caleb Okechukwu (RFr.), Zach Morton (RSo.), Shaq Grosvenor (RSr.)
Incoming Class - Andrew Tuazama (Fr.), Joe Rondi (Fr.), Cooper Dawson (Fr.), Ishmael Goulbourne (Fr.)
Thoughts: Slayton is a HUGE loss, but if Robinson does what he needs to do and the top players remain healthy, our two DEs will be among the best duos in the country at the position. Inside depth is a little light, but there are a lot of reinforcements waiting in the wings. Will Pickard move inside for his final year and overcome all of his injuries to have a great final year? Will Grosvenor be back? Okechukwu picked SU over a couple SEC schools and Texas, will he play strongside DE or can he get some time at DT? I believe all four of the incoming frosh will redshirt and our depth will continue getting better in future years.
Linebacker
WLB1 - Andrew Armstrong (Sr.) (?)
WLB2 - Nadarius Fagan (RSo.)
MLB1 - Tyrell Richards (RSo.)
MLB2 - Lakiem Williams (Sr.)
SLB1 - Shy Cullen (RSr.)
SLB2 - Andrew Armstrong (Sr.)
Other Options - Tre Allison (RFr.), Juan Wallace (So.), Tim Walton (RJr.), Kadeem Trotter (RSo.)
Incoming Class - Mikel Jones (Fr.), Lee Kpogba (Fr.), Geoff Cantin (Fr.)
Thoughts: Moved Richards to MLB for two reasons. 1) He won't see the time he deserves at the DE position with the depth we have at the position and 2) Guthrie did the exact same thing last year. Kept Cullen at SLB because he showed he could be a very useful piece there at the tail end of the year. Have no idea what will happen at the WLB position. Placed Armstrong there for now but could see any number of younger guys there. Speaking of the younger guys, we have eight guys that will be freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores next year. Might there be a surprise or two in the starting lineup by ACC play? We need these guys to step up and make an impact.
Defensive Back
CB1 - Trill Williams (So.)
CB2 - Scoop Bradshaw (Sr.)
FS1 - Andre Cisco (So.)
FS2 - Devon Clarke (RJr.)
SS1 - Evan Foster (Sr.)
SS2 - Eric Coley (RSo.)
CB1 - Christopher Fredrick (RSr.)
CB2 - Ifeatu Melifonwu (RSo.)
Other Options - Carl Jones (Sr.), Cam Jonas (RFr.), Allen Stritzinger (Jr.), DuWayne Johnson (RSr.)
Incoming Class - Aman Greenwood (Fr.), Garrett Williams (Fr.), Adrian Cole (Fr.), Cornelius Nunn (Fr.)
Thoughts: Obviously our cornerback position is as deep as it's been in a long, long time. Fredrick and Williams are as good a tandem, along with Melifonwu, that we have ever had (at least in my opinion). Cisco was a ball-hawking FS that should only get better and Foster is good in run support. Put Clarke as backup FS due to seniority, but will likely be Jonas or Nunn there. Will be interested to see if DuWayne Johnson plays this coming year, and also how the staff rotates in the younger players (Coley, Nunn, Jonas). Cupboard is stocked in this department but things can change due to injuries quickly (RE: Bowl Game).
Overall Thoughts: Eight returning starters and depth all over the place, I would love to see a couple of the younger linebackers step up and play a lot next year. With Lawrence around for two more years at Clemson, it is nice that our strengths (at least this year) appear to match up well with our top competition in the league. The one thing I will say that concerns me just a little is the turnover margin (+13) this past year is basically unsustainable. That, plus special teams, are the hidden factors that greatly contributed to our 10 wins. Can we get to +6 or +7 next year, and be more solid and trim the number of big plays allowed? Something to look for as the 2019 season progresses...
Defensive Line
DE1 - Alton Robinson (Sr.)
DE2 - Kingsley Jonathan (Jr.)
DT1 - McKinley Williams (Sr.)
DT2 - Kenneth Ruff (Sr.)
DT1 - Josh Black (RJr.)
DT2 - Curtis Harper (RSo.)
DE1 - Kendall Coleman (Sr.)
DE2 - Brandon Berry (RSr.)
Other Options - Jake Pickard (RSr.), Caleb Okechukwu (RFr.), Zach Morton (RSo.), Shaq Grosvenor (RSr.)
Incoming Class - Andrew Tuazama (Fr.), Joe Rondi (Fr.), Cooper Dawson (Fr.), Ishmael Goulbourne (Fr.)
Thoughts: Slayton is a HUGE loss, but if Robinson does what he needs to do and the top players remain healthy, our two DEs will be among the best duos in the country at the position. Inside depth is a little light, but there are a lot of reinforcements waiting in the wings. Will Pickard move inside for his final year and overcome all of his injuries to have a great final year? Will Grosvenor be back? Okechukwu picked SU over a couple SEC schools and Texas, will he play strongside DE or can he get some time at DT? I believe all four of the incoming frosh will redshirt and our depth will continue getting better in future years.
Linebacker
WLB1 - Andrew Armstrong (Sr.) (?)
WLB2 - Nadarius Fagan (RSo.)
MLB1 - Tyrell Richards (RSo.)
MLB2 - Lakiem Williams (Sr.)
SLB1 - Shy Cullen (RSr.)
SLB2 - Andrew Armstrong (Sr.)
Other Options - Tre Allison (RFr.), Juan Wallace (So.), Tim Walton (RJr.), Kadeem Trotter (RSo.)
Incoming Class - Mikel Jones (Fr.), Lee Kpogba (Fr.), Geoff Cantin (Fr.)
Thoughts: Moved Richards to MLB for two reasons. 1) He won't see the time he deserves at the DE position with the depth we have at the position and 2) Guthrie did the exact same thing last year. Kept Cullen at SLB because he showed he could be a very useful piece there at the tail end of the year. Have no idea what will happen at the WLB position. Placed Armstrong there for now but could see any number of younger guys there. Speaking of the younger guys, we have eight guys that will be freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores next year. Might there be a surprise or two in the starting lineup by ACC play? We need these guys to step up and make an impact.
Defensive Back
CB1 - Trill Williams (So.)
CB2 - Scoop Bradshaw (Sr.)
FS1 - Andre Cisco (So.)
FS2 - Devon Clarke (RJr.)
SS1 - Evan Foster (Sr.)
SS2 - Eric Coley (RSo.)
CB1 - Christopher Fredrick (RSr.)
CB2 - Ifeatu Melifonwu (RSo.)
Other Options - Carl Jones (Sr.), Cam Jonas (RFr.), Allen Stritzinger (Jr.), DuWayne Johnson (RSr.)
Incoming Class - Aman Greenwood (Fr.), Garrett Williams (Fr.), Adrian Cole (Fr.), Cornelius Nunn (Fr.)
Thoughts: Obviously our cornerback position is as deep as it's been in a long, long time. Fredrick and Williams are as good a tandem, along with Melifonwu, that we have ever had (at least in my opinion). Cisco was a ball-hawking FS that should only get better and Foster is good in run support. Put Clarke as backup FS due to seniority, but will likely be Jonas or Nunn there. Will be interested to see if DuWayne Johnson plays this coming year, and also how the staff rotates in the younger players (Coley, Nunn, Jonas). Cupboard is stocked in this department but things can change due to injuries quickly (RE: Bowl Game).
Overall Thoughts: Eight returning starters and depth all over the place, I would love to see a couple of the younger linebackers step up and play a lot next year. With Lawrence around for two more years at Clemson, it is nice that our strengths (at least this year) appear to match up well with our top competition in the league. The one thing I will say that concerns me just a little is the turnover margin (+13) this past year is basically unsustainable. That, plus special teams, are the hidden factors that greatly contributed to our 10 wins. Can we get to +6 or +7 next year, and be more solid and trim the number of big plays allowed? Something to look for as the 2019 season progresses...
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