Kevin Steele returns to Clemson, says defense will play 'Where's Waldo?' with Shipley

Kevin Steele last coached with Clemson in 2011.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Nov 16 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

Kevin Steele is no stranger to Clemson and he makes his return to Death Valley Saturday when Miami faces off against Clemson in the Tigers’ regular season ACC finale. Steele, Miami’s defensive coordinator, said his defense will be playing a game of “Where’s Waldo?” when the Clemson offense is on the field.

Steele was the defensive coordinator at Clemson from 2009-2011. Steele and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney parted ways after the 2011 season when the Tigers allowed 70 points to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl. Swinney hired Brent Venables a few weeks later.

Steele has made several stops since then – he was at Alabama in 2014 as the Director of Player Personnel before transitioning to the linebackers coach in 2014. He was the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at LSU in 2015, then spent five seasons at Auburn and a couple of months at Tennessee.

Now he’s at Miami with head coach Mario Cristobal and will visit Death Valley as a coach for the first time since the 2017 season (with Auburn). He told the media earlier this week that all eyes have to be on Clemson running back Will Shipley.

“Speed, hard to tackle, really good vision, one of the premier running backs in the country,” Steele said. “He’s going to get the ball, there’s no doubt. You’ve heard that old show or book of ‘Where’s Waldo?’ You better know where to try to find him. You better know where Waldo is. You better know where Shipley is because he’s going to get the ball.

“The ball is going to him. They are just not handing it to him. They throw it to him, too. A lot of their offense is designed to get him the football.”

Steele described the environment waiting on Miami.

“I coached there, and then I went there with Florida St. before I coached there,” Steele said. “And then I went back with Auburn in 2017, so I’ve been there many times. It’s a special place. Their fans, football is very, very, very important to them. And they show that on Saturdays.”

Miami (5-5, 3-3) enters fifth in the ACC in rush defense allowing 125.6 yards per game, a mark that has risen after the Canes allowed 358 yards in the last two games after both Florida State and Georgia Tech have averaged 4.7 yards per carry. However, Florida State’s Trey Benson (128 yards) is the only player to rush for at least 100 yards against the Hurricanes this season. Also, Miami has allowed a Clemson running back to rush for at least 100 yards twice in the last three meetings.

Cristobal said the Tigers are the standard in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“They’ve been an elite team for a long time,” Cristobal said. “They’ve really set the standard in the conference for a good number of years. Elite talent, big, explosive, fast, powerful guys, playmakers across the board. Really impressive up front on both sides of the ball and they’re complimented by tremendous playmakers. It’s what you want your roster to look like, no doubt.”

Cristobal is no stranger to the Tigers – he faced Clemson as an assistant coach at Alabama, beating the Tigers for the 2015 national championship and losing in the 2016 title game. As an assistant coach at Miami, he helped the Hurricanes to a win over Tommy Bowden’s Clemson team in 2005 in his lone trip to Memorial Stadium after losing in 2004.

“That roster is what it’s supposed to look like. They’ve been at it for a long time. Coach Dabo Swinney’s done an unbelievable job. They’re elite across the board,” Cristobal said. “Played them when I was an assistant coach at the University of Alabama and it hasn’t changed. They’re coached extremely well. They’re disciplined. They play hard and I tell you what man they’re impressive. They are as impressive as it gets.”