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Clemson Football: Defensive Report Cards vs. Georgia Tech 2019

By Shawn Spencer

CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 17: The Clemson Tigers drum corps performs on the field following the Tigers' victory over the Duke Blue Devils at Clemson Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 17: The Clemson Tigers drum corps performs on the field following the Tigers' victory over the Duke Blue Devils at Clemson Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
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The 2019 Clemson football defense saw a ton of players get into the game to open up the season. Here’s our defensive grades for the win vs. Georgia Tech.

The Clemson football defense looked a lot different when the Tigers took the field Thursday night in Death Valley.

There was no Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, Dexter Lawrence, Austin Bryant, Kendall Joseph or Trayvon Mullen.

Despite those losses, the defense did a solid job as a unit and came away giving up just 14 points to a Georgia Tech offense that had the element of surprise to its advantage.

Here’s our defensive grades for the 2019 Clemson football team’s 52-14 win over Georgia Tech.

Rushing Defense Breakdown:

The Tigers played a ton of bodies, especially along the defensive line. Clemson had a rotation of all five defensive ends and four defensive tackles that played the majority of the snaps in the first half. I was impressed with how they performed and what they were able to do against that Georgia Tech offensive line.

There were many times where defensive ends, especially Xavier Thomas, just blew past their blocker and were in the backfield. The defensive tackles- especially freshman Tyler Davis- did a nice job of anchoring the interior. Clemson gave up just 157 yards rushing for the entire game, and that included 3rd and 4th string guys getting into the game.

The key for the Tigers will be cleaning up the missed tackles. There were too many times where guys were arm tackling or not finishing the play, allowing a rusher to get away and turn what should’ve been a three-yard loss into a one-yard gain. It’s the little things we’ll need to see improvement on, but it was still a nice job against the run.

Grade: B+

Passing Defense Breakdown:

Georgia Tech completed just seven passes the entire game, but they went for 137 yards. The majority of those yards came on just a few passes that went for long gains (25 yards or more). The safeties were coming up and playing Cover Zero, daring the Yellow Jackets to pass. In most cases, it worked to perfection.

Derion Kendrick and AJ Terrell did excellent jobs in coverage, but we do need to see more from the linebackers and safeties in coverage. There were a few blown opportunities where guys were left open and that needs to be addressed.

However, playing a team like Georgia Tech when you have no film and still only giving up 14 points- all of which came in the second half when the Tigers were playing a bunch of backups- is impressive.

Grade: B-

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Defensive Report Card:

The defense was solid Thursday night. That unit showed promise and will continue to improve over the course of the season. There’s plenty of talent for Clemson football defensively to make a statement and still be one of the top units in the nation.

I really liked what I saw, especially the physicality of the linebackers, the depth of the defensive line and the athleticism of the corners. The safeties also looked improved from last season.

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