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Clemson football: Defensive breakdown with all 11 starters officially returning

By Andrew Boardwine

Clemson tight end J.C. Chalk (25), linebacker James Skalski (47), and safety Nolan Turner (24) after the Tigers 30-3 win over Notre Dame in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T stadium in Arlington, TX Saturday, December 29, 2018.Clemson Notre Dame Goodyear Cotton Bowl
Clemson tight end J.C. Chalk (25), linebacker James Skalski (47), and safety Nolan Turner (24) after the Tigers 30-3 win over Notre Dame in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T stadium in Arlington, TX Saturday, December 29, 2018.Clemson Notre Dame Goodyear Cotton Bowl /
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Defensive breakdown for Clemson football with all 11 starters officially returning

The 2021 Clemson football team will return all 11 starters from last year, but what’s most impressive is the depth behind the starters.

Nolan Turner, James Skalski, Derion Kendrick and Xavier Thomas all had the potential to go ahead and leave for the NFL, but each chose to return for one more season.

With those Tigers back, here’s a look at the roughly-expected depth chart defensively for next season.

Defensive Line

DE- Myles Murphy

  • Justin Foster, Greg Williams, Zaire Patterson

DT- Bryan Bresee

  • Demonte Capehart, Etinosa Reuben, Tre Williams

DT- Tyler Davis

  • Payton Page, Tre Williams, Ruke Orhorhoro

DE-  KJ Henry or Xavier Thomas

  • Justin Mascoll, Cade Denhoff

Look at the amount of depth the defensive line will have coming to the season. You’re talking about 4-stars and 5-stars all across the three-deep with the hopes that some of these guys will develop and show why they were rated so highly coming into Clemson.

Linebackers

SLB/Nickel: Mike Jones Jr. or Trenton Simpson

  • Barrett Carter, Sergio Allen

MLB: James Skalski

  • Jake Venables, Kane Patterson, Kevin Swint

WLB: Baylon Spector

  • Lavonta Bentley, Keith Maguire, Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

Out of all the positions, the SLB/Nickel spot intrigues me the most. You’ve got Jones Jr. and Simpson returning- who were standouts on the defense last year- and you’ve got 5-star Barrett Carter coming in who will play a hybrid between that nickel spot and possibly even some safety.

Defensive Backs

CB- Derion Kendrick

  •  Sheridan Jones, Mario Goodrich, Nathaniel Wiggins

FS- Nolan Turner

  • Joseph Charleston, RJ Mickens, Tyler Venables, Andrew Mukuba

SS- Lannden Zanders

  • Ray Thornton, Jalyn Phillips, Barrett Carter

CB- Andrew Booth Jr.

  • Malcolm Greene, Fred Davis, LeAnthony Williams

The amount of depth at the cornerback spot, especially, is amazing. You’re talking about 5-stars all the way down the three-deep.

If the Tigers can’t improve the defensive backfield with this kind of depth, you won’t ever see it honestly.

dark. Next. Have some fans given up on Brent Venables?

There’s work to be done, but this defense is absolutely shaping up to be one of the best of Brent Venables’ tenure in terms of raw talent.

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