Clemson football: 5 questions the Clemson Tigers must answer in 2020

2. How will linebackers, secondary replace critical losses?

Dabo Swinney deserves every bit of credit that he gets but defensive coordinator Brent Venables may deserve even more credit than he already gets. Despite consistently churning out NFL-caliber prospects on that side of the ball, Venables has constantly adjusted to his personnel and had the Tigers defense as one of the best units in college football. That will again be his task this season.

The most notable player that Clemson has to replace from last year was probably the most important piece from the 2019 defense. Linebacker Isaiah Simmons lined up everywhere on the defense but he’ll now be doing that for the Arizona Cardinals. Frankly, there isn’t a player on the Tigers roster that can replace what he did for the team.

However, James Skalski will be asked to step into a bigger role at linebacker this season. He’s a capable player, finishing second on Clemson in tackles in 2019, but he’ll need to be a defensive quarterback who is able to control the middle of the field with Simmons now gone, even if he doesn’t possess the same elite versatility.

Moreover, Venables will have to look at how they can replace A.J. Terrell and K’Von Wallace, their top cornerback and safety from last season. Derion Kendrick appears primed to step into the CB1 role as he was an all-conference player last season but, outside of that, the Tigers will be asking for talented players to jump into bigger roles and thrive for this defense to stay elite.