When someone is deemed important, they’re considered significant to the overall success of the company, family or team.
To succeed in team sports it takes a group of players to come together for a common goal. The goal for every team is to ultimately win a championship. At first it is a region, division or conference championship and if things progress it can be a state championship, national championship or even a Super Bowl.
To win these championships there are certain players that are considered important to the overall success of the team. In this series, The Clemson Insider takes a look at the 10 players we feel are important to the Tigers’ chances of winning a second national title in three years.
No. 8 Kendall Joseph
During the spring, Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who also happens to be the linebackers coach, was very adamant he wanted to see a little more from his linebackers.
The Tigers are as deep at linebacker as they are anywhere else on the team, but the veteran coach felt like he was not getting their best. So, like any coach, he called on his leader to step up and take charge. All-ACC linebacker Kendall Joseph is that guy.
When Clemson kicks off the 2018 football season on Sept. 1 at Death Valley, Joseph will likely be a starter for a third straight season. The senior has become a reliable cog in Venables’ defense, starting 26 of the 34 games he has played in while racking up 222 career tackles and 18 tackles for loss.
Joseph started at middle linebacker as a sophomore when Clemson won the 2016 National Championship, and he started at the weakside position last year.
When the Tigers open up camp on Aug. 2, Joseph will be back in the middle after being named the starter there on Clemson’s preseason depth chart.
“It’s what Brent felt like gave us the best chance on Day One,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “We felt like they are where they need to be based on what the guys earned.”
Seeing Joseph’s name at MIKE linebacker instead of at WILL caught a lot of people by surprise, especially with Tre Lamar back following an injury riddled sophomore season.
Instead, Lamar is backing up Joseph in the middle, along with Chad Smith and Judah Davis. J.D. Davis is the starter on the weakside and is being backed up by James Skalski and Shaq Smith, while Isaiah Simmons is listed as the starting strongside backer and nickel back. Jalen Williams is listed as his backup, followed by freshman Mike Jones.
Swinney said these are all decisions Venables made based on what he felt was deserved from what he observed during the Tigers’ 15 spring practices.
“It just kind of helps with the whole picture on how we want to position those guys for the reps we needed to get and what he wanted to get accomplished this spring,” Swinney said.
Joseph started all 15 games at middle linebacker for the Tigers during their national championship season. That year he finished second on the team with 124 tackles, including 13.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
In the College Football Playoff that year, he had eight stops, one for loss, and a caused fumble in the Tigers’ 31-0 win over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. He followed that up with nine tackles, including 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage in beating Alabama in the national championship game.
“He can play either one. He has no problem playing either position,” Swinney said. “We have several guys like that … they can slide in or out.
“He is just kind of the quarterback of the group right now. We just wanted to start that way. Again, knowing we have a lot of flexibility.”
J.D. Davis, James Skalski, Judah Davis, Jones, Williams and Shaq Smith all have the ability to move to different positions at linebacker.
“There are about five or six guys at that linebacker position that we think are very functional and can play and that we can win with,” Swinney said. “They give us some diversity with how we move them around.”
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Hot off the press. ‘Back with a Vengeance’ is now available for online orders. TCI takes an in-depth look at the upcoming season as the Tigers march towards another national championship. Order your copy today!
