Going into spring practice the defense will get a lot of attention. Big questions lie on the defenseive side. Will a sloppy defense get better in 2013? Who is going to step up? What players will develop? Is there a guy or 2 that can be a star of the defense? There aren't many, if any, locks for starting positions on the defensive side. The coaching staff hopes the open competition lead will lead to success.
Defensive End-The defensive end position for the Tigers has a good mix of veteran players and freshmen. Corey Crawford will return as a starter. He didn't have a great season in 2012 but started every game. Vic Beasley, while behind Malliciah Goodman, was a menace in limited action. While Beasley and Crawford are the starters heading into spring Roderick Byers, Tavaris Barnes, Shaq Lawson, and Ebenezer Ogundeko will compete for playing time. Lawson is only a freshman, but most expect him to contribute right away. Lawson and Ogundeko are early enrollees so will have an opportunity to push the veteran players for playing time by showing their talents in spring practice.
Defensive Tackle-Grady Jarrett really came on in the latter part of the season for the Tigers at tackle. He was the only solid contributor in the middle that Clemson had on D. Josh Watson played also in the middle along with Tarvaris Barnes. The DT with the biggest upside is DJ Reader. Reader showed flashes of how great he can be throughout the season and heading into his second season he should be a menace for opposing offenses. He has the size, strength, and athleticism to be a handful for offensive linemen. Carlos Watkins has potential as well and could battle for playing time. The one freshman Clemson will have at defensive tackle, Scott Pagano, will likely redshirt.
Linebacker-The linebacker positions will be cluttered with lots of potential. Stephone Anthony, Spencer Shuey, and Quandon Christian will likely be the starters but Tony Steward will be rotated in a lot and could start. Christian will serve as the SAM linebacker but like 2012, will be off the field when Clemson goes to the 5 DB set. Oklahoma transfer, Kellen Jones, was very good while on the scout team this past season and will be hungry for playing time. Justin Parker will have another year under his belt and can contribute as well. In fall practice, freshmen Ben Boulware and Dorian O'Daniel will enter the picture. Both are very talented and both can contribute right away but one or even both could redshirt due to the amount of talented linebackers already on the roster.
Cornerback-The secondary was a glaring weakness for Clemson last season. Some of that was due to lack of talent but some of it was due to injuries. This offseason, Bashaud Breeland appears to be the the frontrunner to be a starter at one corner. The other corner will likely be manned by 5-star prospect MacKensie Alexander. Alexander has the talents to be the best corner on the field from day one and shut down his half of the field. Gary Peters came on strong in the latter part of the season but has attitude issues and will be suspended for the start of spring practice. Darius Robinson was a starter for much of the season but was exposed at times throughout the year and will be recovering from injury. Martin Jenkins could contribute as well. Jadar Johnson is an early enrollee so he will have time to develop in spring to avoid redshirting his first year on campus. Cordrea Tankersly gained valuable experience this past season at Hargrave but could still redshirt. Adrian Baker is another incoming freshman that has loads of talent. Baker should see the field quite a bit, possibly start, and most importantly not be a weakness.
Safety-Travis Blanks showed that he will be a great player the next few years at Clemson with a good freshman campaign. His playing time gradually increased throughout the year and hardly came off the field in the last few games. Blanks will man on safety position and Martin Jenkins will likely start at the other. Jenkins had hoped to contribute last season but missed the entire year because of a sports hernia. Freshman, Jayron Kearse, will man the nickeback position. He will also get a chance to be in the rotation at safety. Ronald Goehaghan will push for time as well. Freshman Korrin Wiggins and Cordrea Tankersly will likely redshirt but could contribute if they are good in preseason practice.
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