Clemson football: PFF high on Tigers’ potential ‘breakout stars’

The Clemson football team will have to have some new names step up- particularly on the offensive side of the ball- if it wants to keep its CFB Playoff streak intact.

The Tigers will be replacing two of the top players in program history in QB Trevor Lawrence and RB Travis Etienne, but they’ll return basically everyone from last year’s defense and have some extremely talented pieces ready to step up on both sides of the ball.

If there’s one organization that is high on Clemson football and the potential breakout stars for the Tigers in 2021, it’s Pro Football Focus.

Pro Football Focus’s Anthony Treash just released his top-five breakout wide receivers for the 2021 season and he included Joseph Ngata.

Ngata, who has shown sparks of greatness, has not been consistent during his time in Clemson yet but there is great hope he could turn that around this year. Ngata is listed No. 5 on the WRs list and No. 25 overall in the nation and  there’s no doubt he has the ability to be a breakout star if he’s able to stay healthy and put it all together.

In addition to Ngata, Treash has several more Clemson football players listed as ‘top breakout stars’

At the top of his list? Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei.

Here’s what Treash had to say about Uiagalelei and the potential he possesses as he takes over the quarterback position for the Tigers:

"“When Trevor Lawrence was sidelined due to COVID-19, Uiagalelei impressed in spot starts as a true freshman. He earned an 83.6 passing grade, making five big-time throws and zero turnover-worthy plays in those two games against Boston College and Notre Dame. And Uiagalelei also showed that he has a rocket launcher for an arm. Both of those outings were among the team’s three most efficient passing performances of the 2020 season.A few of Uiagalelei’s inaccurate throws stemmed from mechanical issues, but that is nothing major to worry about. He displayed all the requisite tools to be an elite college quarterback and wasn’t being protected by easy throws as a true freshman,” Treash wrote."

In addition to Ngata (No. 25) and Uiagalelei (No. 1), Treash had three more Tigers on his list:

• DL Bryan Bresee (No. 11)
• DE Myles Murphy (No. 12)
• CB Andrew Booth Jr. (No. 14)

Bresee is rated as the No. 1 breakout defensive lineman in the country, Murphy is rated as the No. 3 breakout edge-rusher in the country and Booth Jr. is rated as the No. 2 breakout cornerback in the country.

With all the returning talent and the potential that we see in many of these young players, there’s nothing that seems to be standing in the way of the Tigers making another run at a CFB Playoff berth.