Clemson football is the favorite to win their third national title under Dabo Swinney in 2020.
Because we try to stay positive, we are going to assume that Clemson football is going to play 11 regular-season games in 2020 and everyone stays healthy. Those 11 games are going to be very important as this team tries to make their sixth straight trip to the College Football Playoff – something no other program has accomplished.
While there is a lot to be said about the talent coming back in 2020, there are still some question marks that have to be answered when fall camps officially start here in the next couple of days.
The question marks on defense are the biggest ones – who starts strong side linebacker spot that Isaiah Simmons just vacated and who starts opposite of Derion Kendrick at the other corner spot?
While defensive coordinator Brent Venables ran a lot of three-man fronts in 2019, he did so because the back seven was the strength of the defensive while the defensive line was a work in progress. We won’t see too many three-man fronts in 2020, because of how deep and how talented the defensive line is.
While the DL may not be as individually talented as the “Power Rangers” were in 2016, 2017, and 2018 they are deeper and collectively a better group and will be the strength of the Tigers defense in 2020.
Strongside linebacker
There are really only two choices at this point as far as a starter goes – redshirt sophomore Mike Jones and true freshman five-star recruit Trenton Simpson.
Jones has shown that he is a leader off the field and there is no reason to think that in year three he will not be one on the field as well. He is going to have an advantage over Simpson because he understands Venables’ defense and he knows exactly what his coach is looking for.
Sure, Jones is highly talented and is an unbelievable athlete as well, which helps.
However, Trenton Simpson is a freak. He is built like Isaiah Simmons and was one of the most sought after recruits in the country for a reason. While he did not get the opportunity to go through all of spring practice, enrolling early helped get him in the playbook and start to learn the nuances that it takes to be successful under Brent Venables.
While Mike Jones will initially hold off Trenton Simpson, Simpson will play a lot and will more than likely be too good to keep off the field in 2020.
Cornerback
What an anomaly Derion Kendrick is. Not many people can play wide receiver at a level good enough to earn a Clemson football offer and then move to corner during the spring under a coordinator as tough and demanding as Brent Venables, become a starter and then be an all-conference pick five months later.
So who plays the opposite of him in 2020?
There are two very talented guys that will get the first look when camp starts – Mario Goodrich and Sheridan Jones. While both will play in 2020, only one of them will start.
Goodrich is a true junior and that has played in 27 games since he arrived in Clemson. During those 27 games, he has logged more than 300 snaps for Clemson football. Jones is a true sophomore who played in 14 games a year ago and took 140 snaps.
Both are capable and are going to have to earn their spot during fall camp.
There are two other guys to watch out for – sophomore Andrew Booth Jr.and true freshman Fred Davis II. Both have the talent to take the spot opposite of Kendrick is 2020 and both will play but will they show enough in camp to go from backup to starter by the time 2020 kicks off in September?
There are a couple other really important that we will cover over the coming weeks, but these seem to be the most pressing and most competitive when looking at the potential two-deep roster in 2020.