Clemson projected as No. 2 defense in college football this season

Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy will play a role in being a top defense this year (ACC photo).

by TigerNet Staff - Thu Aug 04 11:36:03 GMT-04:00 2022

The expectations are high for Clemson's defense heading into the start of fall camp practices on Friday.

247Sports projects the Tiger defense to be the No. 2 defense in college football.

"Equipped with the nastiest defensive front in the land, Clemson should not take a step back this season despite losing long-time defensive coordinator Brent Venables to Oklahoma," 247Sports' Brad Crawford writes. "The scheme's not going to change and more importantly, many of the bodies available are all future early-round picks, including Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy. Dabo Swinney is experiencing the same wealth of riches entering this season that he had several years ago when a handful of Clemson defenders went in the first round. The Tigers are so talented at edge between Xavier Thomas and Murphy that former five-star and fifth-year senior K.J. Henry is a rotational player, despite coming off his most complete season. Getting Bresee back fully-healthy this fall to man the middle of that defensive line is major."

The full top-5 is Alabama then Clemson, Georgia, Iowa and Ohio State.

Clemson was also the No. 2 projected defense preseason according to ESPN's SP+ formula, with Wisconsin topping that ranking, Alabama at No. 3 then Iowa and Penn State.

247Sports also rated the top QB battles and ranked a potential throwdown between DJ Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik at No. 8.

"To be clear, this is Uiagalelei’s job, probably, barring disaster," said 247Sports. "He was looked at as the next best thing in 2021, before the season started. He shined when filling in for Trevor Lawrence against Notre Dame in 2020, but didn’t look like the same quarterback last season. Enter the five-star freshman in Klubnik. Don’t be shocked if Dabo Swinney switches to the youngster if DJU struggles once again. Even with a 10-3 season in 2021, it was a down year for Clemson and Swinney will do what it takes to get the Tigers back to the top of the ACC and the College Football Playoff this season."