Many are wondering if Clemson football can continue their championship ways without Deshaun Watson, but, the fact of the matter is, it takes and entire team to win a National Title. The Tigers return a host of elite talent in 2017.
Clemson’s defensive line room has the highest concentration of talent on the entire roster. The Tigers’ starting four of Clelin Ferrell, Dexter Lawrence, Christian Wilkins and Austin Bryant, may all end up being first round selection’s when its all said and done.
It seems like nearly every preseason award watch list has at least one Clemson football player on it. The two most heralded Tigers’ have been the aforementioned, Wilkins and Lawrence.
The pair of dominant defensive lineman were recently listed in NFL.com’s list of the Top 25 Players in College Football. Wilkins came in at No. 11, and Lawrence at No. 15.
Thoughts
Wilkins is listed as a “DL”, due to his ability to play either defensive end or defensive tackle. His versatility is likely what catapulted him past the other four defensive lineman on the list.
Lawrence is the youngest player to be featured on this list thus far. Quite honestly, I believe he is better than Christian Wilkins. Not only is he bigger, but, he is just as explosive off of the line of scrimmage. I get that Lawrence cannot play defensive end like Wilkins, however, he is every bit as productive as his older counterpart.
Other notes
SMU – coached by former Clemson OC, Chad Morris – is the only group of five program to feature a player on the list. That designation won’t last for long as Houston’s Ed Oliver will almost surely find his way on this list.
Fall Camp Update: Redshirt tracker 8/13
It’s important to note that NFL.com has not finished this list yet. As the top 10 players are revealed the Clemson football program may have one to two more players featured, such as Deon Cain and Mitch Hyatt. As it stands Alabama has the most players on the list with four, followed by Oklahoma and Clemson who are tied for second with two.