Clemson football: Five defensive players who could have breakout seasons

DeMonte Capehart

Capehart is an example of a guy who just hasn’t had very much luck in his Clemson career so far. He was a 4-star prospect in the Class of 2020 in the 247 Composite. He was ranked #34 overall in the country.

His first stroke of bad luck was being in the Class of 2020. Being a freshman with high expectations is hard enough. Capehart was one of those athletes who had to be a freshman during the COVID-19 outbreak. “Normal” was something alien to football teams that season.

That bad luck led to more. Like Page early in his career, Capehart had trouble keeping his weight down. Swinney noted recently he was upwards of 330 pounds, which can cause problems for players, most notably injuries.

That has been Capehart’s biggest bad luck so far: he just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He missed most of his first year in the program, and surgery prevented him from beginning practice in 2021 until mid-October. Because he couldn’t train and get experience, he was passed on the depth chart last season.

Knock on wood, but it appears that karma is finally giving Capehart the good luck he deserves. He was able to stay healthy through the spring and the fall, and along with Page, he has been cited as one of the players who has made progress in fall camp.

As we noted, Williams has been slowed by a minor injury. He will be back sooner than later, but players asserting themselves like Capehart and Page give the Tigers the luxury of not having to rush Williams back into action too quickly. 2022 might be the year that we finally see the potential of Capehart become the reality.