Clemson football: Tigers most likely to leave early for the NFL

7. Justin Mascoll – Defensive End, SR (RS)

• 64 tackles
• 5.5 tackles for loss
• 2.0 sacks
• 3 pass breakups
• 1 fumble recovery

AND Ruke Orhorhoro – Defensive Tackle, JR (RS)

• 47 tackles
• 9.5 tackles for loss
• 3.0 sacks
• 3 pass breakups
• 1 fumble recovery

This might be a bit of a cheat listing both players together, but their circumstances are nearly identical: both are players who have spent several years in the program, both are considered real prospects to play at the next level, and both aren’t likely to start a single game for the Tigers this season unless there are injuries on the depth chart ahead of them. Mascoll and Orhorhoro are two of the main reasons the defensive line is the deepest group on the team.

Normally a redshirt senior like Mascoll would be exhausting his eligibility, but the COVID rule stating that the 2020 season doesn’t count towards eligibility would allow him a sixth season if he wanted it. Most conventional thinking assumes he won’t take advantage of that, but things can change by the end of the season. If he returned in 2023, he would almost certainly be first-string.

As a redshirt junior, Orhorhoro has two seasons of eligibility after 2022 because he redshirted in 2019, before the COVID season, but he is in the same situation as Mascoll. He did start several games in 2021 when Brian Bresee was injured, but if Bresee and Tyler Davis stay healthy, they are the presumed starters, with Orhorhoro coming off the bench. If he elected to return in 2023, he would most likely be a starter, but the lure of the NFL might be too much to turn down.