On Thursday, news broke of defensive end Logan Rudolph leaving the Clemson football program to pursue an acting career. The rising redshirt junior was the fourth defensive player and the third starter to leave the program since the season ended on Jan. 13.
Linebacker Isaiah Simmons and cornerback A.J. Terrell decided to forgo their senior seasons and entered their name into the 2020 NFL Draft, while reserve defensive tackle Xavier Kelly has decided to transfer as a graduate student.
Rudolph alternated as a starter with Xavier Thomas and Justin Foster at strongside and weakside defensive end in 2019. He played in all 15 games and started nine of them.
What does Rudolph’s departure mean for the Tigers in 2020?
It hurts a little, since Rudolph did start nine games last season and played in 31 overall in his career. He was also one of those guys who worked harder than anyone on the team and his motor was always going full speed.
But overall, Clemson is still in good shape at defensive end. Foster started 13 games there last year and played in all 15, while Thomas started eight and played in 12. Thomas missed three games due to a concussion.
Along with Thomas and Foster is K.J. Henry, who played as a reserve defensive end in all 15 games. He finished the year with 22 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. He also broke up three passes and had three quarterback pressures.
Reserve defensive end Justin Mascoll (6-3,260) will also provide depth. The redshirt sophomore played in all 15 games last season and had 16 tackles.
Clemson also welcomes freshmen signees Bryan Bresee, Demonte Capehart and Myles Murphy to the mix up front as well this spring. Bresee (6-5, 295) and Capehart (6-5, 294) will help at defensive tackle, but Bresee can move outside if need be, while Murphy (6-5, 260) will help with depth at strongside defensive end.
Last year, Clemson led the country in scoring defense and total defense at the end of the regular season. It became the first defense in the BCS/CFP era to hold each of its 12 regular season opponents under 300 yards of offense. Until the College Football Playoff, no team scored more than 20 points on the Tigers.
Though Clemson ran into an LSU offense that was the greatest the game as ever seen, it still finished the year ranked third in scoring defense (13.5 pts/game), fourth in passing defense (172.3 yds/game) and sixth in total defense (288.3 yds/game). The Tigers also ranked second in tackles for loss (119.0), second in forced turnovers (30), second in passing efficiency defense (105.4), third in interceptions (19), third in yards per play allowed (4.46), fourth in red zone touchdowns allowed (14), fifth in red zone TD percentage (42.4), seventh in total touchdowns allowed (24), ninth in rushing touchdowns allowed (10) and 10th in touchdown passes allowed (14).
As the Tigers get ready for spring practice, which is tentatively set to begin on Feb. 26, they will have to replace five other starters from the 2019 defense … Simmons, weakside linebacker Chad Smith, strong safety K’Von Wallace, free safety Turner Muse and Terrell. Smith, Wallace and Muse were all seniors.
Replacing three starters in the secondary that started for at least two full seasons will be Clemson’s biggest challenge in the spring. Derion Kendrick, who excelled as a starting corner after being moved over from wide receiver last spring, is the lone returning starter in the secondary.
In his first year as a starter, Kendrick finished seventh on the team with 51 tackles. He had three tackles for loss, 10 passes broken up and had two interceptions. The coaches believe Kendrick is a future star in the ACC and he is nowhere near reaching his ceiling.
Nolan Turner, who has spent the last two seasons as a backup to Tanner Muse at free safety, will likely start the spring as the starter. Turner did start four games this season and played in all 15. He brings a ton of experience from his time the last two seasons.
Last season, Turner ranked sixth on the team with 66 tackles, including two tackles for a loss and tied Simmons and Kendrick with a team-best 10 passes broken up. Turner also had two interceptions, including the game-clinching interception to beat Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, sending the Tigers to the national championship game.
James Skalski returns at middle linebacker. He finished second behind Simmons in tackles with 105, including 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He also broke up four passes and had 10 quarterback pressures.
Nyles Pinckney’s return at defensive tackle solidifies a defensive line that will be the strength of the Clemson defense next season. Freshman All-American Tyler Davis is also back at defensive tackle, as is veteran Jordan Williams, along with Logan Rudolph,
Adjusted projected defensive starters for Clemson heading into spring practice
DE: Justin Foster, Sr., or K.J. Henry, *So
DT: Tyler Davis, So., or Jordan Williams, *Jr.
DT: Nyles Pinckney, *Sr.
DE: Xavier Thomas, Jr.
SLB: Mike Jones, *So.
MLB: James Skalski, *Sr.
WLB: Baylon Spector, Jr.
CB: Derion Kendrick, Jr.
SS: Lannden Zanders, So.
FS: Nolan Turner, *Sr.
CB: Mario Goodrich, Jr.
Note: *redshirt
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