Enough is Enough, Clemson Defense Holds Players-Only Meeting

CLEMSON, S.C. — It is not just the Clemson coaches that are disappointed with how the defense has been performing this year.

Earlier this week, the defensive leaders on the unit called for a defensive players-only meeting, as they try to figure out why they have been inconsistent this season.

Many figured the No. 5 Tigers, who host No. 14 Syracuse this Saturday at Memorial Stadium, would have been more dominant in their win at Florida State last week, especially with it being the first game this season that every defensive starter was back in the lineup.

However, that was not the case.

The Seminoles totaled 460 yards, including 206 on the ground. The Tigers were yielding just 63.7 rushing yards per game prior to the FSU onslaught. To make matters worse, they nearly blew a 20-point lead after giving up two fourth-quarter touchdown drives.

The Florida State game was not the first time the Clemson defense struggled this year. The Tigers gave up 384 total yards to FCS foe Furman, 311 passing yards to Louisiana Tech and 447 yards of offense to Wake Forest, including 337 and six touchdowns through the air.

After the near debacle at Florida State this past Saturday, the older players and seniors on the defense had seen enough. They called for a defensive players-only meeting to get things out in the open and ironed out.

“Basically, within ourselves, we are trying to get this problem situated and trying to get it solved before it gets bad later in the season,” linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said. “But we are definitely going to handle it and it is going to be a situation that does not come up again.”

Trotter did not say which defensive players called for the meeting, but he did indicate the conversation leaned toward staying focused and making sure they finish the job going forward.

“That has definitely been a big viewpoint that our coaches have been preaching and our defensive leaders have been preaching, too,” he said. “Make sure we close out games and actually keep our foot on that gas pedal all the way throughout the game.”

As for the issues at Florida State, Trotter said it was on the players. They were not fitting gaps and were missing tackles.

“They ran the ball on us so well because we missed assignments fitting the gaps and our tackling is something we have to make sure we focus on this week and get better at,” the sophomore said.

The Tigers had 24 missed tackles in the FSU game, the most by a Clemson defense since the Texas A&M game in 2018.

“We are just trying to make sure we keep our guys focused in our preparation throughout the week and try to stack good days of practice,” Trotter said. “Preparation is what is going to overall show what we do on Saturday. So, we have to make sure we practice with purpose every single day.”

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