Once again, Clemson football is expected to dominate the ACC in 2020.
By now, this is not a new proclamation about Clemson football. However, it is nice to be at the point that the Tigers are finally given some respect. For most of the last five years, FSU was still the preseason ACC pick by most prognosticators.
In 2019, Clemson football placed 16 different players on all three teams of the All-ACC team and six of them return for the 2020 college football season –Jackson Carman, Tyler Davis, Derion Kendrick, Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, and Nyles Pinckney.
Only Lawrence and Etienne are the returning first-team All-ACC picks for the Tigers. Kendrick and Davis were named to the All-ACC second team and Carman and Pinckney were named to the third team. More than likely, you will see all six of them on the 2020 All-ACC first team.
That said, there are three Tigers that will make the All-ACC team at the end of the 2020 season that were not 2019 selections. Two of these will be seniors making an All-ACC team for the first time.
Not only does show how incredibly deep that Clemson football has become but that also shows just how well the Tigers coaching staff recruits and develops.
Braden Galloway would more than likely have been an All-ACC selection in 2019 had he been eligible to play.
As we all know, the NCAA decided not to listen to doping experts or scientists in regards to the Ostarine that was found in Galloway’s system during a random drug test during the 2018 College Football Playoffs but he was able to come back and play versus Ohio State and LSU.
In those two games, he tallied 65 plays and four catches for 120 yards.
While the ACC does have some pretty elite talent at tight end in 2020, Galloway will be the best among them all and will prove to be quite the asset and weapon for Trevor Lawrence. Don’t be shocked to see him go over the 1,000-yard mark in 2020, especially with the loss of Justyn Ross.
Amari Rodgers
Yes, picking Amari Rodgers is almost cheating.
In the last two seasons, Rodgers has been an All-ACC honorable mention but has never actually made any of the three teams. That will change in 2020.
The former Tennessee prep standout has had quite the career since arriving in 2017. He has collected more than 100 receptions, 1,124 yards, and eight touchdowns. He has been able to do this while never being the focal point of the offense and being overshadowed by players like Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross.
With both Higgins and Ross not returning in 2020, Rodgers is going to have an opportunity to top the career highs that he set in 2018 when he had 55 catches for 575 yards and four touchdowns.
His senior leadership will be extremely valuable with all the changes that have taken place in the wide receiver room as first-year coach Tyler Grisham looks to develop talent early for the Tigers.
Expect Rodgers to end his Clemson career on a high note as he will have more than 80 catches, 800 or more yards, and at least 10 touchdowns. That will be good enough to not only help Clemson football win their third national title in five years but will help him land on an actual All-ACC team in 2020.
James Skalski
The fifth-year senior has experienced it all during his time with Clemson football.
The former 3-star linebacker out of Northgate High School about an hour south of Metro-Atlanta has had his career take many twists and turns that he never expected. This started his freshman year when his father suddenly passed away from a heart attack just before Clemson played NC State.
He still managed to play in 14 games that season as Clemson won their first national title in more than 30 years.
Sandwiched between his sophomore year as well as his redshirt junior season when Skalski was named to the All-ACC academic team, he suffered an injury in fall camp that allowed him to redshirt but still play in three games in 2018 as he helped Clemson win their second national title in three years.
He will be the lone senior among the linebackers in 2020 and will be looked upon as the Tigers try to build depth and gain experience in an area where they will be really young. Like he did in 2019, Skalski will shine and will be rewarded with his first-ever selection to an All-ACC team.