Clemson Football: 5 Storylines to Watch vs. Kent State

3. The backups along the defensive line.

There’s been some injuries during fall camp and there was a huge transfer in Scott Pagano.

All of those things have left Clemson football’s defensive line with questions of depth. On the official depth chart, the Tigers have Chris Register and Logan Rudolph as the backups. Albert Huggins and Jabril Robinson are the backups at defensive tackle.

All of these guys were somewhat highly-touted coming out of high school, but none of them have gotten a chance to prove themselves on the field.

This will be their season.

Xavier Kelly is currently not listed on the depth chart because, according to Dabo Swinney, he “is not where the coaches need him to be as far as the system is concerned.”

Kelly will play this season, but the other guys, Register, Rudolph, and Justin Foster are all apparently ahead of him at this point.

The depth behind the starters is a bit concerning.

What you hope to see is this group get a lot of playing time against Kent State. You want to let them figure out things in a game situation with the hopes that they will be ready to go up against Auburn in just another week.

Everyone forgets, but Justin Foster was a 4-star guy in the 2017 class and has a special ability to rush the passer. It all remains to be seen, but that will certainly be something worth watching in the season opener.