Enter the Boulware!
Howdy folks! If you have been reading our site for a while, you know I’ve done the linebacker preview/review articles for the past few years. I came into last year with very high expectations for the unit, as I did for the 2023 season, but eventually the Wes Goodwin effect caught up with the program and the defense largely underperformed last season leading to Goodwin being dismissed. I felt the linebackers in particular underwhelmed relative to their talent level, especially Barrett Carter, and even the two
years before I felt Clemson did not get the best out of highly talented players like Carter and Trenton Simpson. The one exception to this was Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. who was an absolute stud in 2022 and 2023. Ultimately the change to Tom Allen and bringing in former Clemson superstar Ben Boulware and Thomas Allen to coach the LBs should pay big dividends.
Coach Swinney was bullish that talent was not the issue for this defense last year when it routinely got gashed in the run game. We will be able to judge that better through the course of this season and beyond with Allen, but there is no doubt just about every guy on defense is at a different level of conditioning heading into this season. I’ll never forget Carter’s damning admission to being “out of shape” after the shocking 28-7 loss to the Duke Blue Devils to start 2023. He had a clean shot at QB Riley Leonard for a sack that ultimately turned into a long TD run that totally flipped that game on its head. Those are simply plays that have to be made, especially by your top shelf guys with All-American potential. Otherwise, you end up with trips to the Cheez-It Bowl or Gator Bowl or getting beaten by multiple scores against Tennessee and Texas to end the year.
The Tiger defense has a lot of work to do in terms of better disguising what it does and not making it so easy for even questionable offensive minds like Mike Bobo to adjust and gash the defense after halftime. We saw several teams get rolling in the second half of games last year on offense, beginning with UGA and ending with Texas. As good as the Tiger offense could or should be, the defense has to be able to hold up when it matters most. The way Clemson’s LBs are able to move around pre-snap and hide true intentions will be a major piece of this puzzle. That requires absolutely knowing what you are doing, which clearly was not always the case the past year or so.
Ben Boulware is a Clemson legend in every sense of the word. His epic speech after the 2016 National Title is something any major WWE star would salute. The guy promptly put himself through mat drills, with a weighted vest, to set the tone with the position group back in the winter. The less Tom Allen has had to personally insert himself into that position group, the more it shows that Boulware and Thomas Allen are in lock step with the vision and mission of the new defense. I’m excited to see more of what we became accustomed to seeing during the Venables era when even more lightly regarded recruits like Spencer Shuey, Kendall Joseph, B.J. Goodson, and Baylon Spector were forces to be reckoned with. Of course, he also turned major talents like Stephone Anthony and Isaiah Simmons into first round draft picks. Guys like Barrett Carter shouldn’t be waiting as long as he waited to hear his name called at the draft, and the righting of the ship appears underway.
Wade Woodaz returns as the unquestioned veteran leader of the position room. Woodaz had the best year of any of the LBs per PFF grade and production numbers despite Carter getting more of the recognition. Woodaz finished 2024 with 717 snaps; 89 tackles; 10 TFL; 3 Sacks; 6 PBUs; and 1 INT. He had to fight through a very bad thigh bruise late in the season that cost him two games as well. Woodaz has tremendous positional versatility similar to past stars like Dorian O’Daniel and Isaiah Simmons who Brent Venables masterfully deployed in their final seasons when both became Butkis Award finalists (and Simmons won the award). That type of versatility also depends on other positions being able to hold up so you don’t “rob Peter to pay Paul” so to speak.
Prized recruit Sammy Brown showed why he was so highly regarded when he finally got real opportunities last season. Even having a clear learning curve, Brown’s ability to get to the football was second to none. As I noted in my 2024 position review: Brown finished 2024 with 444 snaps; 87 tackles; 11.5 TFL; 5 sacks; and 4 PBU. So we can see where his production surpassed Carter’s and Woodaz’s in just about every category despite playing just over half their snap totals. My hope for Brown is he can become an even more athletic version of Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. Trotter had outstanding instincts and football IQ, and those two things matched with Brown’s superior measurables would be scary for any opposing offense. We can add taking Brown out of the South Carolina game to the list of why I’m glad Goodwin is in Norman as an analyst.
Clemson really needed to be lucky in the injury department with linebackers the past two seasons. For the most part, they were, however, lack of depth has been a glaring issue. That finally seems resolved. Many Clemson fans have rejoiced to see Dabo Swinney finally use the transfer portal beyond just bringing in an emergency QB. One of those transfers is former 5-star Alabama recruit Jeremiah Alexander. Alexander’s supreme work ethic has been a revelation since his January arrival, drawing comparisons to guys like Mackensie Alexander whose catch phrase was “all work is easy.” Alexander has helped solidify the next line behind Woodaz and Brown as well as upping the ante with physical and mental preparations for the entire room, if not the defense itself. I cannot emphasize enough how much a really great team has to have internal drive like what we have heard about Alexander. It doesn’t grow on trees, I can assure you.
In addition to Alexander, Clemson returns Dee Crayton who got by far his most action so far as a Tiger. He was thrust into the fire against Pitt when Woodaz went down and unfortunately got targeted over and over again after halftime by the Pitt staff. However, those moments usually serve to stimulate growth if guys are not mentally soft, and by all accounts Crayton is better than ever heading into this season. If nothing else, Alexander’s arrival put more pressure on guys who might have felt they were second team or next guy up by default.
Kobe McCloud was in line to be the clear #4 LB last season before going down with injury after just two games. McCloud draws frequent praise from Dabo Swinney as a guy who plays above his measurables and is just the type of guy Venables used to get great use out of. Fans certainly hope Woodaz, Brown, and Alexander are physically good to go all year long but minimizing the drop off to the next line is a huge positive.
There have been a few players who needed to get their physical statures up to snuff to truly make a stake for real PT. One of the guys topping that list is Jamal Anderson. Anderson has an NFL bloodline and has been a strong special teams player to this point, but seems to finally have added the good weight needed to be somebody the staff might play beyond garbage time at LB. Anderson has always flashed good athleticism to go with above average length, and could very well fit some of the versatility mold of Wade Woodaz if he can indeed hold up at the point of attack.
Clemson has a group of young redshirt and true freshmen that the staff seems happy about. I don’t ever expect them to say “yeah, that kid is a miss” but usually they (by they I mean more than Swinney) reserve much commentary on guys who have a long way to go. Drew Woodaz has bulked up and CJ Kubah-Taylor’s hitting has been compared to B.J. Goodson (who was a hammer that enjoyed a good NFL run.) Logan Anderson is the lone true freshman in the mix and will be brought along slowly as he returns from a knee injury suffered his senior year in HS.
Clemson’s run defense has to improve from 85th last season. Run defense is more than just the LBs, but hopefully the days of these guys being a half step late or a notch below top condition are behind us. No team with any hope of a playoff run can survive not being good against the run. Clemson’ elite teams were all strong against the run, and when they fell short, particularly in 2015 vs Alabama and 2020 versus Ohio State, the run defense did not hold up. How much we see LSU have to depend on its passing game to hope to move the football is at the very top of the list of what I’m looking for and will go a long way in determining how much better the LB corps is.
