Clemson Football: Big Names to Know on Duke's Offense for Week 1

Who are the biggest threats to Clemson's vaunted defense to start the season?

It's finally here. The 2023 college football season for the Clemson Tigers will kick off this upcoming Monday night at 8 p.m. against the Duke Blue Devils. All the offseason storylines will finally turn into hard visual evidence of the work the Tigers put in. While Duke is certainly a well-known conference brand, and by no means a week 1 cupcake like other schools have scheduled, Clemson should win comfortably. Here are a few of the big names we think have the potential to cause Clemson the most trouble:

Riley Leonard, QB - It's no secret that Leonard is the heart and soul of this Duke team. Last year the dual-threat quarterback put up some impressive numbers by throwing for nearly 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns while adding another 699 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. If the Blue Devils are able to make this a close game at all then it will be thanks in large part to the junior signal caller. With all of the talk around Cade Klubnik this offseason there's no doubt that Leonard will want to make his mark against an elite Clemson defense.

Jordyn Waters, Jaylen Coleman, and Jaquez Moore, RB - While Leonard led the team in rushing last year. this three-headed running back group was a force, with all three combining for 1,554 yards on the ground and 17 rushing touchdowns. Every one of them pulled their own weight as no one had under 480 yards or less than 5 touchdowns on the year. Duke's running backs don't provide much of a receiving threat but the front seven for the Tigers won't be able to key on a run or pass based on who's in the game because they do a good job of distributing the ball equally.

Jalon Calhoun, WR - Calhoun is the best of the bunch for Duke's wideouts. He led the team last season in receptions and receiving yards with 62 catches and 873 yards. Throw in 4 touchdowns as well and it was a productive year that the now redshirt senior will look to build on. While names like Jordan Moore and Sahmir Hagans shouldn't be forgotten, it's likely that the first big test for the Clemson secondary will be Calhoun.