Clemson Football: Depth concerns at DE nothing new for the Tigers

Losing Richard Yeargin to injury and Lasamuel Davis to transfer made depth an area of concern for the Tigers at defensive end. Luckily the Clemson football program encountered the same problem just a year ago.

Quality depth is crucial among offensive and defensive lineman due to their higher possibility of getting injured. That said, Clemson’s depth at defensive end is merely something to keep an eye on entering 2017.

The Tigers had much more glaring concerns at defensive end coming into the 2016 season. First and foremost, Brent Venables was tasked with replacing Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd, both of whom recorded double digit sacks and tackles for loss in 2015. The leading candidates to replace that dominant duo were Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant, both of whom were inexperienced.

To make matters worse, within the first two weeks of fall camp the Tigers lost Bryant to a foot injury. In Bryant’s absence Clemson was left with Ferrell (RFr), Chris Register (RSo), Richard Yeargin (RSo) and a pair of true freshman in Xavier Kelly and Lasamuel Davis. Starting experience was practically nonexistent among the five of them.

The cherry on top came when Kelly got injured in a moped accident. In just three short weeks, what little depth Clemson had a defensive end had been decimated due to injuries.

Silver lining

Venables opted to slide Christian Wilkins out to defensive end, opposite Ferrell. This ended up giving Clemson one of the most formidable defensive lines in the country a season ago. Wilkins was strong at defensive end and true freshman Dexter Lawrence flourished at defensive tackle. Ferrell also established himself as one of the top young edge rushers in the nation.

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Now entering the 2017 season, Clemson has a healthy Austin Bryant and a proven Clelin Ferrell. While backups, Xavier Kelly and Chris Register are unproven, they have one more years worth of experience under their belt.

Should either Bryant or Ferrell go down with an injury and Brent Venables not feel comfortable throwing Kelly or Register in the game, Christian Wilkins has shown he can hold his own playing defensive end.

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At the end of the day, Clemson football doesn’t have phenomenal depth on the edge entering 2017, but, it is much less of an issue than a year ago.