Clemson has very loud and very loyal fans. They have a nice stadium that is as loud as thunder and their fans absolutely and positively love the Tigers. Clemson is a nice University, with a nice campus and in a beautiful area.
But, they haven’t won a national championship since 1981.
That really came close to no longer being a reality in last year’s national championship game. But, the Clemson Tigers came up 3 points shy of beating the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Clemson Tigers lost quite a few starters from last season’s great team including a few underclassmen that left early for the NFL.
But, the secret behind Clemson’s rise in the the national title picture has been their recruiting. Their recruiting classes in recent seasons have been off the charts and a lot of their outstanding talent is
coming from right under neath the noses of the SEC.
Their best player, Deshaun Watson, is from Gainesville, Georgia. Last year’s true freshman sensation at Left Tackle, Mitch Hyatt, is also a Georgia native and he picked the Tigers and started every game last season. Top receiver Artavis Scott is from Florida.
The Tigers are tearing up recruiting in North and South Carolina and in Florida and Georgia. Going into last season, there was a common thought that the Tigers would not be as strong because they lost so much talent from their Defensive Line. But, they replaced those guys easily and came on strong.
Now may be the time for the Clemson to end nearly 35 years of national championship blues.
They have probably the best Quarterback in the nation in Deshaun Watson. He will be a junior in 2016 and there’s little doubt he will leave after this next season to grab the big money of the NFL. That’s just something now days that we all have to live with.
Last season, Watson became the first Quarterback ever to pass for over 4,000 yards while running for over 1,000. Watson is more than just a little bit smooth. He is an outstanding athlete that can burn you with his arm, or with his feet. He has an outstanding throwing arm and throws a great deep ball as
well as possessing touch on the shorter passes. If his receivers are covered, then the defenses have an almost as horrible problem if he takes off running. Watson is dangerous with the ball in his hands or coming out of his hands on a pass.
Wayne Gallman is another big offensive star for the Clemson Tigers. The junior to be Running Back was impressive a year ago running for 1,527 yards and 13 Touchdowns.
Expect Gallman to be spelled occasionally by sophomores Adam Choice or C.J. Fuller. All of these guys are around 215 pounds and tough. Choice was ahead of Gallman on the depth chart before he tore up his knee.
Tyshon Dye is a 6-0, 215 junior that could get in the mix as well.
As talented as the Quarterback and the Running Backs are at Clemson, the strength could very well be with the receivers. Tight End Jordan Leggett is a 6-5, 255 senior that caught 40 passes a year ago and he should have similar success this season.
Artavis Scott has been one of the top receivers in the nation for the past two seasons and he is back for his junior year which will no doubt be his last as a collegian. He has 169 receptions over the past two seasons and will be Watson’s main go to guy again this year. He has good speed, hands and he is tough to bring down. Scott could also be a really good return man.
The best news for the Clemson Wide Receivers will be the return of big play guy Mike Williams. The 6-4, 220 junior is one of the more acrobatic pass catchers in the country and he usually comes down with the ball. He missed all of last season after a nasty collision with the goal post in game one of
2015. The return of Williams gives Clemson a seriously dangerous deep threat that should help open up the run game even better.
Deon Cain is another super star in the making at Wide Receiver. He was suspended last season before their playoff game against Oklahoma, but if he puts in the work and returns, Cain showed last season that he can be outstanding.
As if Scott, Williams and Cain aren’t enough, the Tigers also can throw to former Walk-on Hunter Renfrow, Ray-Ray McCloud, Trevion Thompson and maybe true freshmen Diondre Overton, Cornell Powell and TJ Chase. McCloud looked really good in the Spring Game and I would not be the last bit surprised if he has a big season in 2016. Renfrow was a star in the national title game, and he is sneaky fast with great hands.
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Another star for the Clemson Tigers on last season’s offense was Left Tackle Mitch Hyatt. He was about as good as any Offensive Tackles in the nation last season as a true freshman and he will be back for 2 more seasons at Clemson.
Jay Guillermo at Center and Tyrone Carter at Right Guard are also both back. The projected starter at Left Guard is Maverick Morris who started some in relief of Carter at Right Guard last season.
Jake Fruhmorgen is expected to take over at Right Tackle and he is a talented youngster that came in with Mitch Hyatt a year ago.
The Clemson defense took some huge blows by early declarations, but this team will still be talented.
The biggest losses and the hardest to replace will be Cornerback Mackensie Alexander, Defensive Ends Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd, plus Linebacker B.J. Goodson.
Austin Bryant, Richard Yeargin and Clelin Ferrell should be the top Defensive Ends. Bryant and Yeargin are expected to start, but Ferrell looked really good in the Spring Game. True freshman Xavier Kelly could help out.
Defensive Tackle returns Carlos Watkins, Christian Wilkins and Scott Pagano from last year and all of them played significantly. Recruit Dexter Lawrence is one of the very best in the nation and Nyles Pinckney is pretty good as well.
Linebacker Ben Boulware was one of the team’s top tacklers last year and an inspirational leader. Korrin Wiggins returns after missing the entire 2015 season after being very productive in 2014. Dorian O’Daniel, Jalen Williams and Judah Davis also return to bolster the Linebacker positions.
Linebacker recruits Shaq Smith and Tre Lamar are about as good as it gets and they will be hard to keep on the sidelines.
Definitely, Clemson fans should keep an eye on Smith and Lamar.
Cordrea Tankersley will be the only returning Defensive Back from last year as three of them left early. Tankersley picked off 5 passes from his Cornerback position as teams wanted to throw away
from Mackensie Alexander at the other Corner.
Adrien Baker should take over Alexander’s position with Jadar Johnson and Van Smith expected to start at the open Safety positions. Keep an eye on youngster Mark Fields at Cornerback.
Despite huge losses, this defense should again be pretty tough and especially as the year wears on.
It’s going to be extremely important that the defense not drop off any. The offense should be outstanding, but defense will still win championships.
Can the Clemson Tigers win the national title in 2016? Absolutely.
They should even be favored to win it all. But, the difference between being favored and actually winning it is extreme.
But, one thing is for sure, the Clemson Tigers are the team to watch in 2016.
They should be exciting.