Despite the return of Van Smith, the safety position had some significant changes this year during spring practice. The departure of senior Jadar Johnson to the NFL meant Clemson had a starting safety spot open. But rather than directly replacing Johnson, the coaching staff has decided to move guys around.
Van Smith will take over Johnson’s strong safety spot this year while Tanner Muse seems set to be the starting free safety. The change is interesting because Smith did a very good job at free safety last year, but it seems like the coaches want his steady play to be a little bit more focused on the strong side of the field and thus a bit more involved in the run game.