Five Clemson football players who will be known nationally by season’s end
The Clemson football program will be lacking some ‘star power,’ at least from the national perspective, with the losses of players like Tee Higgins, Isaiah Simmons and A.J. Terrell to the NFL Draft and Justyn Ross to injury.
While the Tigers still have two very recognizable names in Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne with a few other notables like Jackson Carman, Braden Galloway, Amari Rodgers, Tyler Davis and Derion Kendrick, there are plenty of Clemson football players who will make an impact on the season, but are ‘unknowns’ nationally.
Here’s a look at five Clemson football players who will be known nationally by season’s end.
5. Mike Jones Jr.
Mike Jones Jr. is stepping in for Isaiah Simmons and there’s certainly reason to believe that he’s going to have a big season.
Jones Jr. has become one of the leaders in the locker room and reportedly had one of the best springs of any Clemson defenders during the Tigers’ nine practice sessions earlier this year.
He doesn’t have to be Simmons to be recognized, he just needs to be himself.
Look for Jones Jr. to begin garnering the attention of many CFB analysts as we progress through the season with him, ultimately, becoming a well-recognizable name before it’s all said and done.
4. K.J. Henry
K.J. Henry is going to be a big-time star.
Henry is expected to step in and compete for the starting position at one defensive end spot and it’s my belief that he’ll be a starter before the end of the season.
If you go back and watch film from last season, you can see Henry’s increase in playing time over the course of the year. That’s only going to be amplified this year.
It’s his third year in the system and he’s had plenty of time to develop. Look for Henry to live up to that 5-star rating this season.
3. James Skalski
Sticking on the defensive side of the ball, James Skalski is a guy that no one ever gives enough credit to.
Though Skalski was easily one of the best linebackers in the conference last year, he was left off all three All-ACC teams.
Look for those who ignored him last year to change their tune this time around.
Skalski is physical, strong and much more athletic than most think. Look for him to have a big year and to be mentioned among the top linebackers in the nation.
2. Joseph Ngata
Justyn Ross is gone and that means we’ve got to see other wide receivers step up. Here comes Joseph Ngata.
Though Ngata played quite a bit during his freshman season, he didn’t garner many targets. That’s going to change immensely this time around.
It’s my expectation that Ngata will be the starter at the boundary position which means that he’ll be a focal point in the offense. Look for him to have a massive breakout year and to have analysts writing down his name as a potential ‘top-10 pick’ in the way-too-early 2022 NFL Draft.
1. Xavier Thomas
Xavier Thomas is a name that many may recognize, but the truth is that they’ve likely forgotten about him at this point.
Thomas was one of the top players in the nation coming out of high school and there was an expectation that he would come in and compete for playing time right away. While he had a pretty solid freshman season, his sophomore year left Clemson football fans wanting more.
As he heads into his junior season, many national analysts have completely written him off, but they’ll quickly remember about his talent after we get a few games into the season.
Look for Xavier Thomas to be one of the top pass-rushers in the nation and to come away with a big-time junior season that puts him on the map for the first-round of the 2021 NFL Draft.