Dabo Swinney has fired two coordinators in recent years, and he has spent a lot of money on replacements. Garrett Riley has made positive strides in his third year leading the offense, but the Clemson program probably didn’t expect Tom Allen to take long to get the defense back on track. Allen is coming off a strong season as Penn State’s defensive coordinator, but with the talent he has at his disposal, it was expected that he to get the Tigers back to being a top-10 defense. That hasn’t happened
yet.
The Clemson defensive line has been something to fear for the last decade, but they have been lacking on the interior of the line for the last two years. Peter Woods is consistently listed as a first-round pick in mock drafts, but his production has fallen off this year. Woods and DeMonte Capehart aren’t making the havoc plays we’ve come to expect from the defensive tackles at Clemson. They have combined for 5 tackles for loss and 23 pressures. They also don’t have many run stuffs, which is an area where they could be impactful.
Dabo made news this offseason by going out and using the portal to grab one of the best available players in Will Heldt. Heldt is one of a few Purdue transfers that Jeff Brohm recruited who passed on joining him in Louisville. He leads the Tigers in tackles for loss and sacks this year with 25 total pressures. He and TJ Parker pair up to be a great pass rush duo, but the numbers aren’t what they need to be in the sack column. Louisville still needs to have a plan for these two, as we have seen that just getting pressure can cause issues for Miller Moss.
Depth and competition are real concerns at linebacker for the Tigers, but they have one of the most talented players in the country manning the middle. Sammy Brown is a freak athlete who runs like a cornerback while having the build of a linebacker prototype. Brown has been solid this season, but it’s clear that he is learning on the job as a young player. Clemson has to hope that his play lines up with his potential soon. If there is an area where he really struggles, it’s pass coverage. Per PFF, he has given up the second-most passing yardage on the entire team.
Wade Woodaz returns as a starter in the new 4-2-5 scheme, and the veteran has been a playmaker on defense over the last few weeks. He started the season as a player who racked up a lot of tackles, but over the last few weeks, he has made more havoc plays. He will be a big factor against UofL’s run game, which has been reliable for the last handful of weeks. Woodaz has played a ton of snaps, so he will be a key player on the Clemson defense in this game.
Clemson has two strong cornerbacks with plenty of experience to lean on. They also have good depth, but injuries have hurt them there. Ashton Hampton and Avieon Terrell have not been as productive as Cal’s corners, who Louisville struggled to beat, but they will both probably play on Sundays. Terrell is one of the best corners in the ACC, and he is coming off a game where he had two sacks on corner blitzes. He’s a good example of how Allen is adjusting as the season goes on.
The remainder of the secondary is solid but a bit lacking, in my opinion. Misun Kelly, Ronan Hanifan, Ricardo Jones, and Khalil Barnes rotate through the safety and nickel spots, with Kelly being the primary cover guy in the slot. None of the four have been very good this year, but Jones leads the team with four interceptions. Finding a way to get these guys in coverage against Caullin Lacy would be a nice addition to the Louisville game plan this week.
