"Special" Clemson D-line is showing out in camp

Murphy says the group is special.

by Zachary Wagner - Correspondent - Mon Aug 16 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2021

When looking at the Clemson football defensive line, one word comes to mind: talent.

The position group features four- and five-star athletes everywhere you look. With veteran leaders in Xavier Thomas, Justin Foster and KJ Henry and young-but-experienced stellar sophomore Bryan Bresee and, it's no wonder that many college football analysts are predicting Clemson's defensive line to be one of, if not the best in the nation this year.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott both said the D-line wreaked havoc during the Tigers' first scrimmage of fall camp and was the position group that stood out. Earlier in the week, Swinney said that when he walks by them on the practice field, sometimes he just “stops and smiles at how talented that group is going to be.”

Another Clemson Tiger who does the same is Georgia native Myles Murphy. With most of the attention going toward Bresee, Thomas and Tyler Davis so far in camp, Murphy could surprise some people after a monster first season in the Orange and White.

“Oh yeah, I do that all the time,” Murphy said when asked if he also stops to think about how much talent they have together. “With five returning starters specifically in the defensive line group, it’s going to be special. During the scrimmage, everybody stood out and everyone was in the backfield making plays.”

Despite the stacked roster, they don’t care about one player sticking out, Murphy says. As he puts it, they’re a family and a close-knit group.

“We’re a family 24/7, every defensive meeting we always say we’re a family,” Murphy said. “We have our own group chat and we’re always talking to each other. If we say we’re going to work out together, say at three o’clock and you don’t show up and we know you’re in town, we will show up to your apartment.

"It’s fun to be out here with those guys and learning the plays and executing them and getting ready for the season.”

Murphy, who was named a Freshman All-American last season after tallying four sacks and three forced fumbles, says another fellow sophomore could break out this season after an injury-plagued freshman campaign.

“Tré (Williams) has since the day he got here shown flashes of what he can be,” Murphy said. “We as a defensive line have seen what he can be and he keeps his head on straight, keeping his head down and working and taking care of his body off the field. He put it on display today in the scrimmage. He was getting in the backfield and getting a ton of tackles. He got a field goal block and was doing everything. It was a big effort day for him today and that’s why he stood out.”

Williams has also caught junior defensive tackle Tyler Davis' attention. Davis will be a leader in the defensive line room this year, hoping to make his name known again after also suffering through an injury-filled 2020 season.

“Tré Williams is really going to help us a lot,” Davis said when asked first camp scrimmage standouts. “He’s coming out of the blocks strong and he knows what he’s doing this year. He’s a guy to look out for this year. I’ve really enjoyed coaching him up and looking after him so far this year.”

The Clemson defensive line has stuck out to all the players and coaches we have had the chance to talk to so far this fall camp. With so much talent returning, we could be talking about an even better defensive line group than the Power Rangers come December and a potential College Football Playoff run.