Brent Venables has enjoyed what he has seen thus far in fall camp from his young safeties.
Clemson is having to replace both starting safeties from last year’s nationally ranked defense. Besides finding replacements for Tanner Muse and K’Von Wallace, he must also find a replacement for one of his top reserve safeties in Denzel Johnson.
With Muse and Wallace anchoring the backend of the defense down, Clemson had one of the best pass defenses in the country in 2019. The Tigers ranked fourth nationally in passing defense, as they allowed just 172.3 yards per game. Their 19 interceptions ranked third, while they ranked 10th in touchdown passes allowed. Opponents averaged just 6.0 yards per attempt, which tied for sixth nationally.
Muse led the team with four interceptions, while Wallace had two and Johnson one.
Redshirt senior Nolan Turner, who had two interceptions, is the only safety back who has any major experience at the two positions. However, the Tigers have some extremely talented players vying to start alongside Turner, as well as for serious playing time as a reserve.
Lannden Zanders appears ready to start along with Nolan, while guys like Joseph Charleston, Ray Thornton, Jalyn Phillips and R.J. Mickens are also pushing for serious playing time. Charleston recorded an interception in the scrimmage and is one of the guys who has really made big strides in his development.
“It is fun to watch those guys,” Venables said following Saturday’s scrimmage at Memorial Stadium. “It is a group that is skilled, they have length, good instincts, good aggressiveness and are really pretty smart. They have picked up on things pretty well.”
It is also a group that is easy to coach. Venables says they like to be coached and they are a humbled group of players.
“Hopefully, as they gain experience, that will become a strength for us,” Clemson’s defensive coordinator said.
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