Clemson Football: Clelin Ferrell named nation’s best Defensive End

Clemson football’s Clelin Ferrell was named the nation’s best defensive end. The redshirt junior came away with the Ted Hendricks Award.

The Clemson football defensive line is clearly the best unit in the nation.

The Tigers have had several guys win accolades and finish as finalists for prestigious awards. On Thursday, that list got even larger as redshirt junior Clelin Ferrell won the Ted Hendricks Award.

The Ted Hendricks Award is given to the nation’s best defensive end, as voted on by the award’s selection committee.

Ferrell was one of four finalists, including Josh Allen of Kentucky; Jaylon Ferguson of Louisiana Tech; and Sutton Smith of Northern Illinois.

According to the award’s release, Ferrell received 50 percent of the committee voted for Ferrell.

Thoughts:

Clelin Ferrell currently leads Clemson football with 17 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. He has 45 total tackles and 13 quarterback pressures on the year, as well.

The honor, in my opinion, was well-deserved.

Ferrell has been dominant this year on the edge and has certainly earned himself some money at the next level. He’s clearly a first-round draft pick and has the talent to compete and play a lot of snaps in the NFL.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Ferrell can do in the College Football Playoff. The one thing I’ve loved about Clelin Ferrell is his discipline.

All season, he has been able to get in the backfield and cause trouble for opposing offenses. I can’t count how many times he has beaten his man and read a read-option play from the offense, taking both the quarterback and the running back in the process.

He’s explosive, talented and will continue to develop. Ferrell has been a great leader for Clemson football and it will be fun to see just how good he can be the rest of the season and beyond as he continues his career at the next level.