Clemson football: 3 unanswered questions remaining after spring 2021

1. How much has the defense truly improved?

When we’ve watched that Clemson defense throughout the spring, it’s clear that there is another level of confidence and commitment to this group than what we’ve seen in the past couple of seasons.

They’ve taken to heart that loss to Ohio State and the criticism that they’ve received.

But it still remains to be seen just how much more improved they are compared to last season. One of the major reasons for that? All the injuries.

Clemson was without several defensive backs including their two starting safeties in Nolan Turner and Lannden Zanders for most of the spring. James Skalski and Baylor Spector- returning starters- missed much of the spring. K.J. Henry was out for the spring. Several others also missed time.

With that level of absences, it’s tough to tell what this unit is truly going to look like when it comes time to perform on the field. That being said, they look really good so far.

Kind of like the offensive line, it’s a wait-and-see approach. But no one can take away what we saw from this group in the spring- including the development of guys like Bryan Bresee, Andrew Booth Jr., Myles Murphy and Trenton Simpson- and what that will hopefully translate to this fall.