Clemson football knows better than to overlook Virginia Tech.
One of the biggest reasons that Clemson football has been able to establish itself as one of the two best football programs in major college football is because of consistency to details.
From day one, head coach Dabo Swinney has preached about practicing and playing to a standard and not to an opponent. This detail is why Clemson football has not suffered many losses over the last decade.
Once again, that theory will be put to a major test this week as the Tigers travel to Blacksburg to take on the 4-5 Hokies.
While it may seem like a forgone conclusion that the Tigers win this game handily, the Hokies do offer some talent on the backend of their defense, even though the numbers may not indicate that they do.
The Hokies secondary took a major hit back in August when starting cornerback Caleb Farley was the first major player to opt-out of the 2020 season and prepare for the NFL draft. By all accounts, he will be taken sometime in the first 20 picks of the 2021 NFL draft.
Virginia Tech still has three players that will match up well with the weapons that Clemson football has offensively.
Cornerback Jermaine Waller will hear his name called sometime in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft. With the emergence of Farley in 2019, Waller was tested a ton and came through with three interceptions.
He has been injured for most of this season and has not played in more than a month but he is listed as the starter according to this week’s depth chart. If he does play, he will be a huge help to the Hokies secondary that will have its hands full Saturday.
Safety Divine Deablo is another member of the Hokies secondary that should make his presence felt on Saturday.
He reminds me a lot of Atlanta Falcons safety Keanu Neal – as Matthew Hodoway stated over at the FanSided Virginia Tech site, Fighting Gobbler, Deablo is a “battering ram with legs”. He won’t be afraid to come down into the box and try and take the extra yards that Travis Etienne and Lyn-J Dixon love to pick up after initial contact.
Lastly, the third member of the Virginia Tech defense that the Clemson football offense has to be aware of is linebacker Rayshard Ashby.
Ashby will more than likely be a late-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, but he is a tackling machine.
He led the ACC in tackles in 2019 with 119 and has followed that up in 2020 with 57 so far 2020. He also has 6.5 tackles for loss in 2020, which puts him in the Top 25 of all FBS college football. When you add in fellow linebacker Amare Barno, they are quite the duo for the Hokies defense.
Clemson football will more than likely win this game by double digits and secure their place in the 2020 ACC Championship game, but they should expect a fight from Virginia Tech Saturday night in Blacksburg.