For those who want Clemson to fail in 2016, it’s easy to point to the loss of defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd and say that Brent Venables’ defense will be hard-pressed to replicate the numbers put up in 2014 and 2015.
It’s the same question Clemson faced a year ago, and the defensive ends turned out just fine.
Entering the 2015 season, the Tigers were facing life without Corey Crawford and Vic Beasley and many wondered just where the production would come from. Dodd and Lawson, who combined for 14 tackles for loss in 2014, combined for 49 in 2015 and parlayed that success into NFL contracts.