Clemson Football: 5 Position Battles to watch during spring practice 2019
![SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide is tackled by Justin Foster #35 of the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide is tackled by Justin Foster #35 of the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/bd99ed46d10de2ad96640b7644ccfad5b2f34c4382dcc5a1be28aa20030fb2cd.jpg)
3. Linebacker
With the departure of Kendall Joseph and Tre Lamar, the Tigers have a couple of openings at linebacker.
That means we have two major position battles heading into the spring. It’s expected that Isaiah Simmons will remain the starter at SLB/NB with Baylon Spector and possibly another young guy behind him.
Right now, it looks like we’ll see Jamie Skalski and Chad Smith battle for that middle linebacker spot, and Shaq Smith and potentially a Mike Jones Jr. or player of that caliber battle for that WLB spot.
It will also be interesting to see how some of the talented freshmen linebackers the Tigers signed will be able to perform, but they won’t arrive until the summer.