Will Clemson miss defensive end Xavier Thomas this season? Sure, it will, but not as much if Myles Murphy continues to play the way he has in fall camp.
The Tigers’ freshman defensive end has been one of the talks of camp. After having a good spring, Murphy has continued his solid play in camp, as he has received praise from his head coach, teammates and defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
“He is a little bit inconsistent, but more good than not,” Venable said.
Murphy is part of young group of defensive linemen who have come in and added depth, versatility and talent to the defensive front. Besides Murphy, Venables also singled out the play of Bryan Bresee, DeMonte Capehart, Tre Williams and redshirt freshman Greg Williams.
However, it has been Murphy who continues to be talked about the most when the media has asked how the freshmen are doing in camp. In fact, at times, Dabo Swinney and a couple of other players on offense and defense have singled out Murphy’s play on their own.
“He has a great first step and really gets off the ball,” Venables said. “He has fast eyes and is very instinctual. His fundamentals are well developed, and he has great natural power and explosiveness.”
With Clemson planning to redshirt Thomas, as he attempts to get himself back in shape after dealing with the effects of having the coronavirus, Murphy could not have come along at a better time. He will fit right into the rotation behind K.J. Henry, Justin Foster and Justin Mascoll.
“Like I said, he can really run, and he has a refined pass rush scheme,” Venables said. “So, he knows what he is doing out there for sure, but he still has work to do.”
Clemson will scrimmage for a second time in fall camp on Tuesday. This will be the Tigers’ last practice of camp. Wednesday is the first day of classes at Clemson. And though they will be online classes right now, Swinney will still give the team the day off as he always has on the first day of classes.
The Tigers will begin regular season practices on Thursday.
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