In this series we will pick the best players from Clemson’s Modern Era (1990-present). This is the era following the Tigers’ great teams of the Danny Ford and Charlie Pell era. Some of the players on this list might be considered among Clemson’s all-time greats and you are sure to recognize a few if not all of the names on our list.
We continue our series today by looking at the linebackers on Clemson’s All-Modern Era Team. This list is comprised of five players who earned All-American honors at Clemson, including four First-Team All-Americans, two ACC Defensive Player of the Year honorees and one ACC Rookie of the Year.
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First Team
Anthony Simmons (1995-’97): Simmons is arguably the best linebacker to play at Clemson in the modern era. Though, as you will see on this list, there have been a lot of great linebackers in the last 25 years. He was the second Clemson player in history to be named as an All-American three consecutive years. As a true freshman, he led the Tigers with 150 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He also broke up three passes in Reggie Herrings’ defense. After the season he was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and was a member of the All-ACC First Team defense. He also earned Third-Team All-American honors. As a sophomore, Anthony again led the Tigers with a school-record 178 tackles, including 16 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He earned First-Team All-ACC honors and was named a First-Team All-American as well. In 1997, he recorded a team-high 158 tackles, an amazing 25 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He also knocked down four passes. He was a Consensus First-Team All-American that season and again was named All-ACC First Team. Simmons finished his career with 486 tackles, which ranks second on the Tigers’ all-time list.
Keith Adams (1998-2000): Adams was perhaps the most undersized of all the linebackers on the list and was nicknamed the “Termite” because of his 5-foot-11, 230-pound frame. But that did not stop him. In fact he used it to his advantage. Adams still holds the Clemson record for sacks in a game and in a season. He recorded four sacks against Duke in 1999 and had a school-record six tackles for loss in that game as well. He ended the season with a record 16 sacks and a school-record 35 tackles for loss. After the season he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-ACC and First-Team All-American. He finished the year with 171 tackles. In 2000, Adams had 99 tackles and seven sacks, while recording 19 tackles for loss. He was a finalist that year for the Dick Butkus Award, while also earning Consensus First-Team All-American honors. He was also a First-Team All-ACC selection. Adams finished his career with 379 tackles, 54 tackles for loss and 23 sacks. His sacks and tackles for loss are still career records for a Clemson linebacker.
Second Team
Levon Kirkland (1988-’91): Kirkland finished his Clemson career with 273 career tackles, 40 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, 23 passes broken up and seven caused fumbles. He had his coming out party in the 1989 Gator Bowl when he won MVP honors after sacking West Virginia quarterback Major Harris once, forcing one fumble, broke up a pass and had three quarterback pressures. He also had nine tackles in the Tigers’ 27-7 victory. Kirkland was an All-American and a First-Team All-ACC linebacker in 1990 when he totaled 58 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and broke up eight passes. That year the Tigers led the nation in total defense by allowing just 219.2 yards per game, including 70.9 on the ground. Opponents averaged just 9.1 points per game that year, which also led the nation. Clemson finished the season with a 30-0 victory over Illinois in the Hall of Fame Bowl. In 1991, Kirkland earned First-Team All-American honors when he led a Clemson defense that led the nation in rushing yards allowed (61.1) and ranked in the top five for defense (272.6) and scoring defense (15.4). Kirkland finished the season with 63 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, six passes broken up and one caused fumble. He was also named First-Team All-ACC.
Ed McDaniel (1988-’91): Like Kirkland, McDaniel played on some of the best defenses to have ever played at Clemson. He was the leader of the defense in the middle as he started in 1990 and in 1991. He earned second-team All-ACC honors in 1990 and was first-team in 1991 as he led the Tigers with 109 tackles, including 13 tackles for loss. Lined up alongside Kirkland, McDaniel was a First-Team All-American during the Tigers run to an ACC Championship in 1991. He again led Clemson in tackles with 114 and had 10 tackles for loss. During his four-year career, he totaled 389 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, caused 10 fumbles and broke up 14 passes.
Third Team
Leroy Hill (2001-’04): Hill was the first Clemson player, regardless of position, to earn First-Team All-ACC honors in consecutive years since Adams did the same in 1999 and 2000. In 2004, he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and was an All-American after recording 106 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Hill took over the middle linebacker duties in 2003, leading the Tigers with 145 tackles, eight sacks, and 27 stops behind the line of scrimmage. He also had eight quarterback pressures and three interceptions. In 47 games with the Tigers, Hill started 24 times. He closed out his career with 311 tackles, including 16 sacks for minus-123 yards, 48 tackles for losses of 182 yards and 15 quarterback pressures. He also recovered a fumble, caused two others, intercepted three passes and had four pass deflections at Clemson.
Stephone Anthony (2011-’14): Anthony really came into his own during his last two years at Clemson. He earned All-ACC First-Team honors his senior year after leading the Clemson defense to the nation’s No. 1 title as the Tigers led the country in total defense and 10 other defensive categories. He had a team-high 90 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 11 quarterback pressures, one interception, four pass breakups and two caused fumbles in 2014. That followed a junior season in which he totaled a team-high 131 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, three quarterback pressures, one interception, five pass breakups and one recovered fumble. He had seven double-digit tackle games in 2013, while earning All-ACC Second-Team honors. He finished his Clemson career with 330 tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, three interceptions, 18 quarterback pressures, 13 pass breakups, five caused fumbles and one recovered fumble in 52 games, including 35 starts.