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Clemson Tigers Defensive Line Must Live Up To The Hype

The defensive ends have the chance to be something quite special this coming up college football season.

By: Jeremy Grace—Intern

The talk about this defensive line is that they have an extreme upside. So much so that the hype level is as high as the Clemson Tigers "Power Rangers" defensive line from 2018.

The defensive ends have the chance to be something quite special this coming up college football season. Not just that position group, but the defensive line as a whole has the opportunity to be great.

"Oh yeah, we hear it often that we have a great group," Defensive End Coach Lemanski Hall said. "You know Coach Swinney said we have seven starters back on the d-line and so to me, that's the focus on ok those are high expectations at that group and we gotta live up to that expectation. You can't try to go out and do something you're not comfortable doing so we gotta focus on the little things and just be who we are," Hall said.

From the top of the depth chart to the bottom, the Tigers have a lot of players with experience and playing time. Every one of these defensive ends have a very high ceiling and can do a multitude of things well whether it be pass-rushing or run-stopping. It's a luxury that this position group has. Xavier Thomas, K.J. Henry, Myles Murphy, Justin Mascoll, Justin Foster, Greg Williams, Regan Upshaw, and Kevin Swint just to name a few make a lot of depth just at defensive End.

"What we have to do Coach Bates and I have to do is to do a good job of making sure our guys buy into what we want to get done," Hall said. "We have the luxury of some guys that played a lot of football and now it's a matter of utilizing the depth we have and getting guys to play fast, play free, don't think, and go out and execute and be productive."