Clemson Football: 5 Things Tiger fans have to be thankful for in 2019

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers celebrates his teams 44-16 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide with the trophy 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) /

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CLEMSON, SC – SEPTEMBER 10: Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables of the Clemson Tigers calls out a play during the game against the Troy Trojans at Memorial Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Tyler Smith/Getty Images) /

4. Brent Venables

Brent Venables is the nation’s best assistant coach and it’s not even particularly close.

Venables is a defensive mastermind and that has absolutely been proven over the course of this 2019 season.

Coming into the year, the Tigers had lost three first-rounders– Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence and Clelin Ferrell- off the defensive line and a total of seven starters. No one thought Clemson’s defense would be as dominant as the 2018 season, but the unit has been just as effective.

The Tigers are actually giving up less points and yards per game than they were at this point last year despite all the losses to the NFL from a season ago.

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