Clemson Football: Wes Goodwin excited to pit his defense against Duke's explosive offense

Much of the focus for Clemson this offseason has been on new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, and deservedly so, but the Tigers have another coordinator entering a big season as well. Wes Goodwin will head up Clemson's defense for the second year since taking over for now-Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables. Goodwin and his defense will get a tough test to start the season when they face Duke's high-powered offense on Labor Day. Goodwin spoke to the media about that challenge on Wednesday.

"You know, I always like those big games starting out the season and they got 19 starters returning, obviously of a lot of experience offensively. [It] starts with the quarterback [Riley Leonard]. He's a savvy guy and just goes from there," said Goodwin. "They're left tackle [Graham Barton], he's super talented, tough. And then running back-wise they got guys that have played a lot of ball and [Jalon] Calhoun's really dangerous receiver in the slot and number eight [Jordan Moore], got a lot of respect for him as well but those guys are really well-coached. Coach Johns does a great job as an offensive coordinator and it's a huge, huge challenge, and we'll find out early where we're at defensively."

Clemson has a ton of talent back on the defensive side of the ball this fall and the unit should be more versed in Goodwin's style of defense. As for Goodwin, a big jump in year two could mean a lot for him and the program.

"I think just the confidence and command in the room defensively, you know, walking in every day meeting room-wise and just having the belief and trust in the players you know, just from a knowledge standpoint of how everything flows, recruiting, gameplan preparation, practice preparation, all of those really really feel comfortable from where we're at, on my side of the ball. So, excited to see what year two holds."