If you’re a casual college football fan or maybe a freshman who hasn’t watched many Clemson football games, you may be overwhelmed by all the hype surrounding Clemson’s football team. With so many voices and opinions, it can be easy to feel like it isn’t worth investing in learning about the team, and rather, you may opt to simply go to football games for the lively atmosphere and fun chants. If this is you, don’t give up. Keep reading. Below is a preview of Clemson’s 2019 season, from the biggest storylines to the star players.
Coming off the first 15-0 season since 1897, a National Championship and a decisive victory over college football’s most dominant program, the Alabama Crimson Tide, Clemson football is going to have a hard time topping 2018’s historic season. While last season seems like a once in a lifetime type of season, the expectation going into 2019 is for Clemson to replicate 2018’s success.
For the first time in program history, Clemson is the preseason No. 1 in the AP Poll. Alabama, who will certainly be playing with a chip on their shoulder after last season’s embarrassing loss, is right on the Tigers’ heels at No. 2. The rankings, while they hold little weight before the season begins, are an indication that Clemson has surpassed Alabama as the team to beat this year. This is an unfamiliar position for the Tigers. Even last season, after three straight College Football Playoff appearances, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney famously said, “It is kind of Alabama and the rest of y’all. We are just kind of glad to be on the R.O.Y bus right now and to still have a chance.” The Tigers have always been underdogs, even in the midst of one of the greatest college football seasons. The biggest question heading into 2019 for the Tigers is how they will handle the target on their backs.
It’s worth noting that since 2000, only two teams that began the year as the preseason No. 1 team have gone on to win the National Championship. Swinney and his staff have been consistent all offseason in telling their players that 2019 is a new year. The successes of last year have no impact on 2019.
“This team ain’t won one. They ain’t won a game. Haven’t played a game, haven’t won a game. There is no carryover.,” said Swinney in an interview.
If there’s one thing Swinney and the Tigers have been able to do over the past several years, it’s that they have defied expectations time and time again. While this season’s challenges are different than those in years past, expect the Tigers to embrace their new role at the top of the college football world.
While 2018 certainly played a role in Clemson being the No. 1 team in the preseason AP poll, they wouldn’t be there if not for their loaded 2019 roster. Last season, Clemson projected as a defensive juggernaut with cautious optimism surrounding their offense. This year, the opposite is true. Clemson’s offense, led by Heisman frontrunner Trevor Lawrence, will be one of the best offenses college football has seen in recent years. With all the hype surrounding Lawrence, people seem to forget that running back Travis Etienne racked up 1,736 yards and 26 touchdowns en route to an eighth place finish in Heisman voting a season ago. If Etienne makes a similar leap this season as we saw a season ago, he may beat out his quarterback for the coveted award.
While many teams would be lucky to have either Lawrence or Etienne, they are just two stones in the infinity gauntlet that is the Clemson offense. The Tigers are bringing back an experienced offensive line as well as a loaded receiving corps headlined by Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross. After compiling 435 yards and seven touchdowns in last year’s College Football Playoff, Higgins and Ross seemed to click with Lawrence at the right time. With a whole offseason’s worth of work under their belt, the trio should be in sync from the first drive of the season in 2019. While Higgins and Ross headline the receiving core, Cornell Powell, Joseph Ngata, Frank Ladson and Diondre Overton are all excellent receivers in their own right. The Tigers should be able to spread the ball all over the field offensively, beating teams in the air and on the ground. The plethora of playmakers will force opposing defenses to stick to a balanced approach. Altering a defense to slow down one superstar player is doable, but how do you stop a team that has six superstars? The answer is, you don’t.
It’s clear that teams looking to beat the Tigers will have to find a way to score a lot of points. While Clemson’s defense projects to take a step back from last year after losing six players to the NFL, they still have enough talent to be an elite defense. The biggest area of concern for the Tigers is the defensive line. After losing Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence, Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant and Albert Huggins to the NFL, the defensive line took the biggest hit this offseason. Nyles Pinckney and Jordan Williams will look to plug the gaps on the interior while Xavier Thomas and Justin Foster will take over the edge positions. While four new players on the defensive line may sound like trouble, they’re all more experienced than most backups. One of the benefits of winning games by an average of over 31 points is that second-string players see a lot of action. Thomas in particular is one of the focal points of the defense, and he’s been dubbed one of the most likely breakout candidates for the upcoming season.
More questions remain unanswered for the Tigers beyond the defensive line. Outside of Isaiah Simmons, the other two starting linebacker spots are up for grabs after Tre Lamar left for the NFL and Shaq Smith transferred to Maryland. In the secondary, AJ Terrell, Tanner Muse and K’Von Wallace return after showing steady improvement a season ago. While at times the unit seemed porous, they locked it down against Ian Book and Tua Tagovailoa in the College Football Playoff. After losing Trayvon Mullen to the NFL, the Tigers were looking to fill a starting corner-back spot. With a loaded depth chart at the wide receiver position, Derion Kendrick tried his hand at cornerback this offseason, and apparently had a great deal of success. So while the talent is there for Clemson’s defense, the challenge is going to be piecing all of the new parts together. With Swinney and defensive coordinator Brent Venables orchestrating the moving parts, the Tigers will try to create a new identity on defense.
As far as special teams, B.T. Potter has seemingly locked up the starting kicker job. After taking over kickoff duties as a true freshman, Potter was the logical replacement for longtime starter Greg Huegel this offseason. One of the only major weaknesses for the Tigers a year ago was their punting. While this may seem like a minor weakness, bad punting can lose football games, especially late in the season. Last year’s starter, Will Spiers, has faced competition from the highly touted freshman Aidan Swanson. The two have apparently been in a tight battle all offseason, and it looks as though Spiers may hold on to the starting job. If he can’t improve upon a shaky 2018 season however, Swinney may hand the reins to the true freshman.
While there are still some wrinkles that need to be ironed out, it’s easy to see why Clemson football has fans counting down the days until the season begins. The 2019 Tigers are talented, motivated and primed to defend their status as the kings of college football.
