Justin Mascoll doing everything it takes to impress this spring

Justin Mascoll is a sixth-year Tiger who looks poised to break out, says his position coach Lemanski Hall.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Wed Apr 05 07:00:18 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - With a new offensive coordinator, there has been plenty of focus on what this new Clemson offense will look like. On the defensive side, they have the advantage of bringing back a number of experienced players, including sixth-year defensive end Justin Mascoll.

Mascoll has a total of 86 tackles, nine for loss, during his time at Clemson. So far this spring, he’s gotten a healthy share of the reps and become a more vocal player according to defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall.

“We got a chance to give him a lot of reps,” Hall said. “He’s been good in my meetings. He’s locked in. He’s been encouraging. He’s been coaching those guys.”

Mascoll was one of the many players who could have declared for the NFL Draft but decided to stay for one more season. This decision made the most sense for his future NFL career as his draft stock needs some improvement. But as Hall explained, it was no sales pitch that kept Mascoll as a Clemson Tiger - he wanted to stay because he and all of the other players know what Clemson has to offer and the success they’ve had in the NFL.

Just look at the defensive draft class this year. Up to three Tigers could be drafted in the first round this year - defensive end Myles Murphy, defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and linebacker Trenton Simpson.

“It wasn’t a sales pitch. He let me know. He told Coach Swinney, ‘I’m coming back. So let’s go,’” Hall said. “You don’t have to sell Clemson. You don’t have to sell our program. These guys understand what we have and what they want to accomplish … I played in the NFL and I know guys who want to get there, you know, I played nine years and it was a hard nine years … I want to help them reach their goal and have an opportunity to play.”

Just because Mascoll is a seasoned veteran doesn’t mean he’s going to be an automatic starter. For Hall, everyone has to earn their spot on the field. The key to doing that is through maturity - taking care of your body and mind and being dedicated on the field and giving it everything you have, says Hall. And that is something that Mascoll is doing, showing the coaching staff a version of him they haven’t seen before.

“You got to continue to perform on the field, right? You (got to) make plays you’re supposed to make, you got to be available,” Hall said. “You got to do the little things and if you continue to do that, and stay on the right track, and Mascoll is gaining weight, (he’s) doing the things that he needs to do, (he’s) taking care of his body. He’s eating well. He’s getting rest, he’s doing all of those things.”

The competition among the defensive linemen doesn’t make things easy, however. Between more vets back and more stepping up in spring practice, such as Cade Denhoff, who had a pick-six in Saturday’s scrimmage – and also talented freshmen like Peter Woods and David Ojiegbe and AJ Hoffler, there are a number of players who are hungry to get on the field and prove themselves.

“I got guys that are coming in that (want) to play football right away,” Hall said. “So, I’m telling those guys man, just push the starters (to) continue to work hard each and every day because we grade everything - individual, team, pass rush, grade everything. Everything counts.”

The defensive line competition will be showcased next publicly on April 15 with the spring game (1 p.m.).