Clemson’s defensive line is, once again, expected to be stout this coming season.

But how does the Tigers’ D-line stack up among the nation’s top defensive fronts?

Pro Football Focus dove into that recently, ranking the 10 best defensive lines in college football entering the 2024 season.

Clemson checked in at No. 9 on the list, ahead of Oregon at No. 10 and behind Texas at No. 8.

Here’s what PFF’s Max Chadwick had to say about the Tiger D-line unit, which features plenty of depth and talent, including rising sophomore stars and 2023 freshman All-America selections Peter Woods and T.J. Parker:

Clemson finds its way into the top 10 of this list thanks to two outstanding true sophomores. Peter Woods was third among FBS defensive tackles in pass-rush win rate (17.1%) and seventh in run-defense grade (88.6). His 87.6 PFF grade was the third-best we’ve seen by a true freshman interior defensive lineman since we began charting college football in 2014. The only two above him were Dexter Lawrence and Ed Oliver in 2016, who each currently make over $15 million a year from their respective teams.

T.J. Parker was one of the Tigers’ starting edge defenders as a true freshman and excelled as a run-defender. His 83.0 run-defense grade was eighth among Power Five edge defenders last season.

Ohio State took the top spot in PFF’s defensive line rankings, with Michigan, Miami, Georgia and Ole Miss rounding out the top five.

Clemson will face off against that UGA defensive front when the Tigers and Bulldogs open the 2024 season in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31 (12 p.m., ABC).

“Georgia brings back four defensive linemen who played at least 325 snaps last year and all four earned 70-plus PFF grades,” Chadwick wrote. “The biggest name from that bunch is undoubtedly junior edge defender Mykel Williams, who’s gone as high as No. 1 overall in some way-too-early mock drafts. While there’s work to be done to get to that point, there’s no denying the sheer power he possesses at 6-foot-5, 265 pounds.

“Unsurprisingly, the Bulldogs also have some highly-touted freshmen and sophomores waiting in the wings. Damon Wilson, Jordan Hall and Joseph Jonah-Ajonye were all five-star recruits in their respective classes and are all projected backups.”

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