The Clemson football team hosted its annual Orange & White spring game Saturday afternoon. Here are our final defensive grades from the scrimmage.
The Clemson football team played its final session of the spring in front of 60,000 Tiger fans in Death Valley as part of the annual Orange & White game.
The Tigers are looking to replace a ton of talent off of last year’s defense, including Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, Dexter Lawrence, Kendall Joseph, Tre Lamar, Trayvon Mullen, Austin Bryant and Albert Huggins.
Here’s a look at our final grades for the defensive side of the ball in the scrimmage, starting with the Orange Team.
Orange Team Defense:
The Orange Team defense gave up a few big plays and couldn’t get off the field at times, but still only gave up three touchdowns and a field goal on the day.
With the mix-and-match nature of the scrimmage, that’s certainly nothing to scoff at.
Derion Kendrick had a nice day and, in my opinion, proved that he could be an elite cornerback if he chooses to stay at that position.
Xavier Thomas had a nice day creating pressure and Isaiah Simmons looked like his dominant self.
Grade: B-
White Team Defense:
Though the White Team defense didn’t have Xavier Thomas, the unit did possess three really talented defensive ends in Justin Foster, Justin Mascoll and KJ Henry.
That allowed the group to get a better pass-rush and force Trevor Lawrence out of the pocket on several occasions.
At linebacker, I was really impressed with Jamie Skalski and Mike Jones Jr., who both had really good days.
The cornerbacks were very solid for the White Team. AJ Terrell was in on several pass break-ups and Sheridan Jones proved to be the top performer of the day, forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass for a touchdown.
Grade: A-
Overall, this defensive unit has plenty of talent. The secondary is going to be very good this season and the defensive line is coming along. By the time games start in August, Brent Venables will have this team ready to go.