When KJ Henry and Xavier Thomas announced they were coming back for one more time, it brought back memories of Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, and Austin Bryant coming back to win a National Championship.
The defensive end position at Clemson is loaded. Myles Murphy, Thomas, Henry and Justin Mascoll are arguably the best and deepest in the country. Between the four, they played 1,566 snaps in 2021. They combined for 117 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and 15 sacks.
Backing up this strong two-deep DE group are a couple of very capable talents in juniors Kevin Swint and Greg Williams. Expect to see a lot of these two guys in the spring game. Don’t expect them to start over the other four but the talent is there. They combined for 166 reps last year with 15 combined tackles.
Pushing those two will be 2021 signees Cade Denhoff and Zaire Patterson. Both brought impressive stats with them, and they will have the chance to turn it loose in the spring. Not many teams in college football can boast a competitive 4-deep at defensive end. These two 6-5 250 bookends have a bright future.
Clemson only brought in one DE in the 2022 class, local Daniel product Raheim Lawson, brother of former Clemson great Shaq Lawson. He won’t be until the fall and has a lot of work to do to get into college football shape. He had outstanding numbers in high school and has a bright future.
In 2023, this position will probably be losing Thomas, Henry, and Murphy. The time to make a move for the youngsters is now.
The #1 target for the 2023 edge rusher class is 5-star Matayo Uiagalelei, 6-4 255, the brother of current Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. With 20 offers to his credit, Uiagalelei is ranked as the #2 edge rusher in the country. One would think Clemson had an edge with his brother already there, but he is being pulled hard by USC and Oregon to stay on the West Coast. Dabo has his work cut out for this talent DE/TE prospect.
4-star Jaquavious Russaw out of Montgomery, Alabama, is ranked 4th in the country at his position. Russaw, 6-2 230, has picked up 24 offers, and received a Clemson offer in early January. He is expected to make a return to Clemson sometime in the spring.
The #1 player in the state of Utah, and the #6 edge rusher in the country, Tausili Asaka, picked up a Clemson offer last July, but hasn’t really shown any interest in the Tigers since then. He most recently visited Miami and Vanderbilt.
Damon Wilson is a 4-star talent out of Venice, Florida. Wilson, 6-4 230, is the 7th ranked edge rusher in the country and his 26 offers back that up. Clemson offered him in June of last year, and since then has gotten a lot of attention from the likes of Georgia, Auburn, LSU and Oregon.
4-star Desmond Umeozulu (say that real fast 5 times) out of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, ranks as the 10th best edge rusher in the country. He picked up an offer back in January and could make another visit in the spring. Umeozulu is a longshot to come to Clemson.
NC standout Rico Walker, 6-5 233, picked up a Clemson offer back in January and visited Clemson this weekend. Walker is currently ranked #12 in the nation at his position and #3 player in his state. He currently has 22 offers, but expect that number to grow.
Washington DC native, David Ojiegbe, recently visited Clemson in early March for Junior Day and picked up his 31st offer. He is ranked at #17 in the country at his position, and the #2 player in the DC area.
The Tigers have offered edge rushers from seven edge rushers from all over the country, from California to DC to Florida. Signing day is still 9 months away. The spring game will be fun to watch as the veterans may get in a quarter two of work, then the young guns will take over. Stay tuned to CSN for more position analysis.
