Tanner Muse believes his defensive counterpart, linebacker Isaiah Simmons, is one of the best defensive players in the country, if not the best.

“I think Isaiah has played as one of the best guys in the country,” the Clemson safety said on Monday. “I think if you look at his stats and things like that, I think they stand up to a lot of guys in the nation. But he is just going to keep on getting better. He is only going to scratch the service of what position he is in right now.

“He is just going to make more and more plays. It is just exciting to see.”

Simmons was named the National Defensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Foundation on Sunday after he had 11 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in the win over Syracuse. As a team, top-ranked Clemson allowed just 187 total yards in a 41-6 win at Syracuse.

How would Muse describe Simmons as a player to someone who has never seen him before?

“First you are going to see him, and you are going to be like ‘Wow!’ He is super long. He is very built up and then you see him run and you are like, ‘Goodness gracious!’ He is like a gazelle out there, just prancing around,” Muse said. “If they watch him play, they are going to be super impressed with how fast he goes and how hard he hits.

“He is just the ultimate package as a defender, if you think about it. He can play safety. He can play linebacker. He can play really anything you wanted to play.”

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