The future of Clemson football is great hands.
Clemson football fans have heard this before – just wait until leaves and you come back down to earth.
If you are paying attention, the young freshman on this roster are ridiculously talented and we aren’t just talking about defensive linemen Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy. There are freshmen on both sides of the ball that should have Tiger fans all over the world excited about their future.
Let’s start on the defensive side of the ball for Clemson football.
Linebackers Trenton Simpson, LaVonta Bentley, Keith Maguire, Kevin Swint, and Sergio Allen are all freshman that have insane talent. We won’t see too much of Swint or Allen in 2020 as they develop but we saw a glimpse of their raw power and strength Saturday against the Citadel.
It is tough for linebackers to play early in defensive coordinator Brent Venables defense but as they develop and pick up more of their playbook, they will be unleashed and that is something that we should all be excited to see.
Simpson and Bentley will continue to see their playing time increase and are they exciting to watch. Simpson was an accidental 5-star addition to the 2020 class but Clemson football fans should be thanking their lucky stars that he wanted to be a Tiger and was willing to wait it out.
Too many times fans moan and groan about who their programs didn’t sign, however, we see year after year those that decide to take other offers opens up doors for those meant to rep the orange and it seems to work out time and time again.
Offensively, there is a lot to be excited about as well when it comes to Clemson football.
We all know about D.J. Uiagalelei. He is going to be very good. He is still very raw but his athleticism and talent are very obvious. He has to learn all the important nuances about playing quarterback at this level but once he does, he could end up being the best we have ever seen in Tiger town.
I will say this now, freshman wide receiver E.J. Williams will be D.J. Uiagalelei’s favorite target for the next few years. They already seem to have great chemistry on the field and this will only get stronger.
Ajou Ajou is much bigger than I think anyone anticipated. You can see the talent waiting to explode but he still has to do the little things to be great. He has dropped quite a few balls already this season that should have been caught. As he continues to work with receivers coach Tyler Grisham and fine-tunes himself, he is going to be one helluva player.
Running backs Kobe Pace and Demarkcus Bowman are going to be a lot of fun as well. The best part of Travis Etienne coming back is he gets to show these two young runningbacks firsthand what it means to buy into the grind and how to practice like a national champion. This is something that they otherwise would not have had.
His leadership to these young running backs is something that Tony Elliott would never have been able to convey or coach and will be invaluable to their growth and development.
The future of the Clemson football program is in great hands with these Tiger freshmen.