CLEMSON – Carlos Watkins is the man in the middle, and now he’s the leader of a young defensive line that is dealing with the loss of D.J. Reader.
The 6-3, 295-pound junior out of North Carolina has played 336 snaps in 23 games over his Clemson career, but with last week’s news that Reader was taking a break from football, Watkins now becomes the Tigers’ most experienced defensive tackle.
Reader and Korrin Wiggins were counted on to be stalwarts – two of the few players who have had experience starting – for a young Clemson defense in 2015.