The Clemson football program has had several players who have struck fear into their opponent. Here are the 10 scariest Tigers to play under Dabo Swinney.
Dabo Swinney has coached some scary Clemson football teams over the past few seasons.
Swinney, who took over as the interim head coach in 2008, rebuilt a Clemson football program that couldn’t seem to get over the hump and turned it into a national powerhouse. Since the interim tag was removed, Swinney has gone on to win two National Championships, five ACC Championships and earn four bids into the CFB Playoff.
Swinney has done an excellent job of not only recruiting at a high level, but developing Clemson football players once they arrive on campus.
Because of that, the Tigers are now considered one of the few elite programs around the nation and are consistently competing for CFB Playoff berths.
Over the course of this past decade, Swinney has seen some talented players come through the program. Many Tigers have gone on to have long careers in the NFL because of the training and development that they received in college.
As we get closer to Halloween, though, we wanted to take a look back at some of the scariest Tigers to ever suit up under Dabo Swinney.
To define scary, we looked at it from an opponent’s perspective. These 10 players struck fear into the hearts of their opponents. They were- and are- instrumental parts of the game plan when opposing teams prepare to take on the Clemson football program.
Here are 10 of the scariest Tigers to play under Dabo Swinney.
10. Mackensie Alexander
Say what you want to about Mackensie Alexander, but there’s a reason teams never threw at him during his Clemson football career.
Alexander was injured during his freshman season, so the Tigers elected to redshirt him. During that redshirt freshman campaign, he was thrown at a total of 57 times and only 20 of those attempts were completed, none of which came in the final nine games of the season.
Alexander continued that trend during his redshirt sophomore season and, as a result, earned All-ACC honors for a second-straight season.
Teams would intentionally throw away from Alexander. He didn’t allow one receiver during that season to have 100 yards receiving and absolutely shut down his man week-after-week.
Alexander was certainly a headache for opposing offensive coordinators and a scary defensive back to face from that perspective.
9. Hunter Renfrow
He may not be the fastest player on the field. He may not be the strongest player on the field. He may not be the most agile, tallest, biggest or athletic player on the field. But Hunter Renfrow certainly possessed a quality that shook opposing coaches to their core.
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban found out just how scary Renfrow can be in the 2016 National Championship game when he caught the game-winning touchdown pass.
As a result, the Crimson Tide zeroed in on Renfrow the next two seasons- a win in 2017 and a loss in 2018- and Saban admitted as much.
Renfrow didn’t rack up huge stats during his time in the Clemson football program, but what he did was effective and certainly could haunt opposing defenses.
Do you know how frustrating it must have been for opponents to have the Tigers in 3rd-and-moderate situations just to see Renfrow come up with a catch one yard ahead of the chains to keep the drive alive?
8. Mike Williams/DeAndre ‘Nuk’ Hopkins
For No. 8, we will stick at the wide receiver position with a tie.
Though the two played very differently, Mike Williams and DeAndre ‘Nuk’ Hopkins scared opponents in their right.
Williams was a big, physical body who could just man-handle opposing defenders. Hopkins was a guy that had the ability to catch underneath passes and break out huge speed and leave defenders in the dust on fade-routes.
Both of these guys were certainly headaches for opposing defensive coordinators and huge assets for their quarterbacks.
Hopkins has now developed into one of the top wide receivers in the NFL and Williams is currently working his way up the ladder, as well.
7. Christian Wilkins
You want to talk about a versatile player who could do it all? That’s Christian Wilkins.
Opposing offensive coordinators had to deal with the fact that Wilkins could line up on the inside and use his power to get into the backfield or he could use his finesse to blow past offensive linemen.
The Tigers didn’t just use him at defensive tackle, but also at defensive end.
Wilkins was so versatile, in fact, that opposing offensive coordinators didn’t just have to plan for him, but defensive coordinators, as well.
Wilkins was the tailback in the ‘jumbo package’ that Clemson pulled out during the 2017 and 2018 seasons that saw him line up behind Dexter Lawrence and carry the ball in short-yardage situations. He scored three total touchdowns- two rushing and one receiving- in his career and was a force to be reckoned with no matter what position he was playing.
He finished his career as a three-time All-ACC selection and three-time All-American. He became just the fifth unanimous All-American in school history.
6. Travis Etienne
Travis Etienne brings us to our first of two current Clemson football players to make the list. We easily could’ve added Justyn Ross and Tee Higgins to the list, as well, but decided to stick to just two current players.
Etienne makes the list because of his pure explosiveness.
If you look at opposing defense’s game plans for the Tigers this season, most of them have keyed in on Etienne.
Even when Etienne isn’t gaining huge numbers, he is still an intricate part of the offense because he’s drawing the full attention from the opposing defense.
Etienne may possibly be the most explosive running back in the history of Clemson football and has an opportunity to leave the program as one of the most decorated running backs of all-time, breaking a ton of records along the way.
5. Dexter Lawrence
Dexter Lawrence was a force to be reckoned from the day he stepped on campus.
Lawrence, a 6-foot-4, 340 pound defensive tackle, didn’t put up huge numbers, but he was the anchor of the interior defensive line during his time at Clemson.
There were very few offensive linemen that could move Lawrence. Having that big force- for lack of a better term- made it near impossible for opposing offenses to get anything going in the inside running game.
Lawrence proved his worth and was drafted in the first-round as a result. His size and freakish athleticism make him one of the scariest to ever play under Dabo Swinney.
4. Sammy Watkins
You can’t have a list like this and not mention WR Sammy Watkins.
Watkins was one of the most explosive players to ever play for the Clemson football program. As a freshman, Watkins emerged as a huge part of the Tiger offense.
Over the course of the three years he was at Clemson, the speedy wide receiver would catch 240 passes for 3,391 yards and scored 27 receiving touchdowns. Watkins also scored a rushing touchdown and had a kick return for a touchdown.
Teams did everything in their power to limit Watkins’ explosiveness and they just couldn’t stop him. His speed, athleticism and strength were too much to handle in almost every case.
3. Isaiah Simmons
Isaiah Simmons is the second current Clemson football player to make this list.
If you’ve kept up with what Simmons has done over the course of last season and through the first few games of this 2019 season, you know exactly why he’s on the list.
Through the first seven games of this year, Simmons leads the Tigers in tackles with 59 and sacks with six. He is all over the field and his versatility makes it extremely hard for offensive coordinators to scheme around.
Though many offenses have tried to run away from Simmons, he still is making plays in the backfield. He is holding his own in pass-coverage, as well, and is doing a great job in run-support.
Simmons’ versatility is an absolute nightmare.
2. C.J. Spiller
C.J. Spiller is one of the first play-makers to help put Clemson football back on the map.
Spiller left Tiger Town with 3,547 yards rushing and 32 touchdowns. Spiller was a force for the Clemson offense and was a threat to take the ball to the end zone any time he touched the ball.
When you watch Spiller run, he was just faster than the other defenders. He had good vision and whenever he got out in space, he just had another gear he could use to get down the sideline.
Spiller wasn’t just a threat as a running back, but also as a punt and kick returner.
During his senior season in 2009, he carried the Tiger offense. Spiller rushed for 233 yards in the ACC Championship game in a loss to Georgia Tech and was near untouchable that entire season. He was the entire game plan for opposing defensive coordinators and, yet, they still couldn’t stop him.
1. Deshaun Watson
Coming in at No. 1 on our list is Deshaun Watson, arguably the greatest Tigers to ever play for Clemson football.
Watson earned the starting spot at QB during his freshman season, but injuries set him back. He returned for the South Carolina game, though, and dominated the Gamecocks with a torn ACL. That game would be just foreshadowing for things to come.
Watson led the Tigers to a perfect 12-0 season the following year and an ACC Championship. Clemson competed with Alabama in the National Championship, but eventually fell short. Even in the loss, Watson threw for 405 yards and accounted for five touchdowns.
The next season, the team made it their goal to get back to the National Championship game and avenge the loss. Watson helped the Tigers do just that.
He led Clemson to a 35-31 victory over Alabama in which he threw for 420 yards and three touchdowns.
The thing about Deshaun Watson was the fact that he never got rattled. He could throw an interception, but it was a guarantee he was going to come out the next drive and score a touchdown. Though opposing defensive coordinators did everything they could to stop his dual-threat ability, Watson was just too good.
He finished as a Heisman finalist in both the 2015 and 2016 seasons and left Clemson football with 10,168 yards passing and 90 touchdowns. He also had 1,934 yards rushing and 26 touchdowns in just three years with the program.