Clemson finished with a record of 12-2 in the 2017 football season, along with an ACC Championship and a College Football Playoff appearance. In what was supposed to be a down year for the Tigers after the loss of Deshaun Watson, they had a tremendous year dominating in the trenches. This offseason, the entire dominant defensive line decided to return to Clemson instead of go pro for the money; Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence, Austin Bryant and Clelin Ferrell all made the all ACC preseason team. While the Tigers’ defense is going to be dominant all 2018 season, the main question this season is who is going to start at quarterback. Kelly Bryant is the seasoned veteran who led Clemson to an ACC championship and a CFP appearance while putting up good numbers. Trevor Lawrence comes in as the most prolific high school football recruit in the history of Rivals.com and coaches and analysts are saying he is going to be almost impossible to keep off the field. Good news for Clemson fans though: Whoever starts at quarterback this season is going to win at least 12 games because of this supporting cast.
Prestige Ranking (If NCAA Football 19 existed): 6 stars
With a national championship win in 2016 and 3 straight CFP appearances, Clemson is firmly 6 stars in the legendary NCAA Football rankings.
Previous Record: 12-2 (7-1) *8 wins if you count the Miami win in the ACC Championship game.
Projected Returning Starters: 7
Kelly Brant (QB), Tavien Feaster (RB), Hunter Renfrow (WR), Mitch Hyatt (LT), Justin Falcinelli (C), Sean Pollard (RG), Milan Richard (TE).
Tavien Feaster and Travis Etienne will be a double headed monster at running back this season, behind a very experienced offensive line. Hunter Renfrow has a chance in his senior year to prove he is one of the best Clemson receivers of all time, which is some very high praise.
Defense: 8
Austin Bryant (DE), Christian Wilkins (DT), Dexter Lawrence (DT), Clelin Ferrell (DE), Tre Lamar (MLB), Kendall Joseph (WLB), Trayvon Mullen (CB), Tanner Muse (SS or FS)
This defense is going to dominate college football once again, wreaking havoc on quarterbacks week after week. Trayvon Mullen, A.J. Terrell and Mark Fields look to be the one of the best cornerback trios in college football this year.
Special Teams: 2
Alex Spence and Greg Huegel (who tore his ACL last season) both return to this team. Although, the biggest story may be true freshman kicker B.T. Potter who has shown he can consistently kick 60 yarders. Will Spiers, the starting punter, returns to the team after having a big freshman season in which he averaged 40 yards per punt.
Key Losses: Ray-Ray McCloud & Dorian O’Daniel
Although some Clemson fans were a little tired of Ray-Ray McCloud’s fumbling issues, he was a crucial playmaker on this offense and his return skills will be missed as well. Clemson won’t miss anyone more than Dorian O’Daniel though, he had a breakout season in 2017, proving that he could cover receivers in open space and stop the run. He was a Gruden Grinder whose veteran leadership will no doubt be missed on this defense.
Key Newcomers: Trevor Lawrence, B.T. Potter & Mario Goodrich.
Trevor Lawrence is obviously the biggest story line for this 2018 off season. Mike Farrell of Rivals.com said he was the best recruited he has ever scouted. The Clemson coaching staff has also done nothing to stop pumping the hype train, calling him more physically ready than Deshaun Watson was at this stage. B.T. Potter finds himself in an interesting situation because of the problems this Clemson football team has had with kicking the last couple of seasons. Potter may very well come in and take control of the kicking job right away. Cornerback Mario Goodrich is going to have to come in an provide some depth behind the Tigers top cornerback trio this off season. He will firmly find himself playing at times this fall.
Breakout Player of the year: Offense
Tee Higgins, a former 5 star wide receiver proved his worth at the tail end of the 2017 season, proving he could be the next big playmaker to come from WRU. Higgins has all the potential in the world at 6’4 with a wide frame. The coaching staff has already compared him to Mike Williams at this point in his career in what will be only his sophomore season. NFL scouts are going to be salivating over this kid in 2018.
Breakout Player of the year: Defense
Shaq Smith, a former 5 star linebacker out of IMG High School, has yet to make much noise on this defense because of Brent Venables’ very complex schemes. This is the season Shaq Smith breaks out and proves to everyone he was worth the 5-star billing. An athletic freak with an extremely high ceiling is exactly what Venables wants on defense.
Five Year Recruiting Rank (Bill Connelly): 9
Dabo Swinney has proved time and time again that he can recruit outside of the state of South Carolina at a very high level. Nothing has changed over the last 5 years. Although Swinney has had to field some smaller classes in the past, sometimes quality over quantity is what really matters.
Alcohol Prediction for Fans by Season’s End: CHAMPAGNE
Clemson fans should be ready to pop bottles at the end of this season. There is just too much talent on this team to not win another national championship. It’s national championship or bust for this 2018 Clemson team.
Final Thoughts:
Clemson is as talented on defense as they have ever been and with so many returning starters on both sides of the ball, this team should be ready to make a deep post season run. Clemson’s schedule is very favorable this year compared to years in the past. The toughest game may come in week 2 against Texas A&M in College Station with Jimbo Fischer at the helm for the Aggies now. The most drama this team is going to have is the quarterback battle. Kelly Bryant VS Trevor Lawrence. Kelly Bryant catches too much flack for the semi-final game against Alabama; for the most part Bryant played at an extremely high level in 2017, but will it be enough to hold off boy wonder? Trevor Lawrence is just too good to keep off the field and although Clemson fans should respect everything Kelly Bryant has done for them, Dabo knows he can’t wait to play this kid. Lawrence has a legit chance to be one of the college football all time greats. His high school highlights will leave you with your jaw dropped for sometime. Trevor Lawrence ends up playing more by seasons end, but this will be the first time Dabo and company truly use a two quarterback system. Both quarterbacks have very impressive skill sets, but are almost entirely different, which will shake up defenses all season long.
Ceiling: 15-0
Floor: 13-2
Prediction: 14-1 with a national championship victory.
Follow me on Twitter for more Clemson insight through out the season @JohnnyRambos