Dabo Swinney has built the Clemson Tigers into one of the most dominant programs in the sport and there’s no sign that’s gonna change in 2019. They return loads of talent on offense, and reload with elite talent on defense.
Prestige Ranking: 6*
At this point, Clemson is a fully formed super weapon. Winning the ACC five out of the last eight years and the national championship two out of the last three years puts them on an absolute elite level. And that doesn’t even count their absolute destruction of one of the greatest dynasties in the sport’s history.
Last Year’s Record: 15-0
The Tigers were the first team in modern college football history to finish undefeated and with 15 wins.
Projected Returning Starters
Offense: 6
- QB Trevor Lawrence
- RB Travis Etienne
- WR Tee Higgins
- LG John Simpson
- RG Gage Cervenka
- RT Tremayne Anchrum
I don’t have the words to describe how good this offense can be this year. Lawrence might have been the best QB in the country last year and now he’ll have an entire offseason as the undisputed starter to get even better. Etienne averaged over 8 yards a carry, Higgins caught 12 touchdowns and there’s also national championship star Justyn Ross. This team is beyond loaded.
Defense: 4
- LB Isiah Simmons
- CB AJ Terrell
- S Tanner Muse
- S K’Von Wallace
Simmons, Muse and Wallace all could have left early for the NFL, but will instead lead this defense. Terrell is also a great player to have back after he lead the team in interceptions, including this one:
Special Teams: 1
- P Will Spiers
Spiers wasn’t great last season, only averaging 39.7 yards a punt, but there’s no reason to think that he won’t improve with another offseason of experience.
Key Losses
The defensive line that powered two national championships is now finally gone after delaying it a year. On offense, Hunter Renfrow leaving won’t necessarily be devastating schematically, but emotionally and sentimentally he will impossible to replace.
Key Newcomer on Offense: T Jackson Carman
Carman was overshadowed by recruits like Trevor Lawrence and Xavier Thomas last year, but make no mistake: this was an absolutely huge get for Clemson. They were able to steal the best player in Ohio away from the Buckeyes and the former 5-star looks like he’ll take over the LT spot for the future.
Key Newcomer on Defense: DE Xavier Thomas
Oh did you think Clemson was out of absurdly talented 5-stars who had to sit last year? Nah, Thomas is an absolutely elite player who was only behind Lawrence and Justin Fields as a recruit. In his limited time last year, he was able to produce 8.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks and should do even more damage this year.
Win the conference if:
The much more interesting topic is what would have to happen for Clemson to not win the ACC. But it’s pretty hard to make a case for that to happen. Their hardest conference game is at Syracuse, but the Orange might be taking a step back this year. It also doesn’t really look like someone in the Coastal could knock them off: neither of the Virginia schools are talented enough to do it and Miami is still a year or two away under Manny Diaz.
Circle this game: South Carolina
There’s a case that Texas A&M might be the most difficult game, but we’ll go with South Carolina for a couple of reasons. First, going to Columbia is harder than playing the Aggies in Death Valley. The other reason is that Clemson is just two games away from tying their longest winning streak against South Carolina.
2019 Outlook:
The Clemson Tigers are once again in a position to walk through the ACC and the rest of their schedule. With the talent they return, especially offensively, anything short of a third national championship in four years will be a disappointment. Start preparing yourself for round five of Alabama-Clemson because the Tigers will certainly be there at the end of the year.