Clemson is tasked with replacing several starters from last year’s defense, including A.J. Terrell, Tanner Muse and K’Von Wallace in the secondary, but no void will be harder for the Tigers to fill than that left by Isaiah Simmons, the unanimous All-American and 2019 Butkus Award winner who is expected to be a top-10 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
While Clemson has a few candidates to take over for Simmons at the nickel/SAM position, redshirt sophomore Mike Jones Jr. is the frontrunner to step into the starting role there this season, and fifth-year senior linebacker James Skalski liked what he saw from Jones in that spot this spring.
“Of course, you lose a player like Isaiah and a lot of the guys in the back end that we lost, you definitely notice they’re gone,” Skalski said. “But hey, we recruit guys that can replace and fill the jobs, and he’s doing a great job so far.”
In two-plus years at Clemson, Jones has patiently waited for his shot to be the starter at strongside linebacker. The former four-star prospect from IMG (Fla.) Academy made three tackles in three games during his redshirt year in 2018 before recording 19 tackles (4.0 for loss), a forced fumble and a pass breakup in 181 snaps over 15 games last season while playing behind Simmons.
Head coach Dabo Swinney called Jones one of the brightest spots of Clemson’s nine spring practices, saying he has a “big thumbs up” by his name right now, and Skalski agreed that Jones is trending upward heading into the 2020 season.
“Definitely. He’s improved a lot,” Skalski said. “Spring ball I think is where a player really makes a lot of strides, and he’s definitely moving in the right direction for the kind of player we’re going to need him to be next year.”
Though Jones is the heir apparent to Simmons at nickel/SAM, Skalski says it is unfair to compare the two players as Simmons wasn’t just a linebacker for the Tigers – he played all over the field on defense at virtually every position but nose tackle.
Nonetheless, Skalski believes Jones is ready for the big opportunity in front of him following Simmons’ departure.
“It’s hard to compare to that guy because he didn’t play nickel/SAM for us, he played defense for us. That guy played everything,” Skalski said. “And don’t get me wrong, we have people like that still. We have guys that can be versatile and make plays like that. But yeah, it’s not fair to compare to Isaiah. But that’s the cool thing about being yourself, being your own individual – you’ve just got to make your own name, and I know Mike Jones is ready to make his own name.”
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