It came as something of a surprise when defensive tackle Christian Wilkins elected to forego the 2018 NFL Draft and return to school.
Wilkins was regarded as one of the top prospects in last year’s draft and was almost a lock to go in the first round, but still he decided to keep Clemson’s defensive line together. The group believed that their team still had work to do and could lead their team to a championship in 2018, and as the leader of that defensive line, Wilkins couldn’t go running off to chase NFL riches.