FSU Football: Clemson D-Line Better Than FSU’s In 2017?
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football will field one of the best defensive lines in all of college football. However, will it even be the best in the ACC Conference?
Related Story: Offensive Line Named Sleeper Unit In 2017
That’s the question facing FSU football right now. The ‘Noles lose All-American DeMarcus Walker in 2017, but return quite a bit of depth and two of the best defensive recruits in the nation.
Derrick Nnadi is already one of the best defensive linemen in the country and Josh Sweat has improved quite a bit the last two years. He should finally be 100 percent healthy since the horrific knee injury suffered in high school.
ESPN’s Andrea Adelson thinks Clemson will field the best defensive line in the ACC:
"Finally, the Tigers go into the season with their defensive line as a known commodity after several years where breaking in new starters became the norm. They did not miss a beat then, and they should not miss a beat now, with Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence and Clelin Ferrell all returning to give Clemson potentially the best defensive line in the country.With Austin Bryant expected to be completely healthy, Wilkins could shift back inside to play tackle, but there are plenty of options either way. Scott Pagano returns and so do Albert Huggins, Richard Yeargin and Chris Register across the defensive line, giving Clemson both talent and depth on a unit that will be expected to lead the team – especially early in the season."
‘Noles as the “Runner-Up”
"The Seminoles lose ACC Defensive Player of the Year DeMarcus Walker, and that is a big loss. But the Seminoles return three other starters from a unit that got better as last season went on. Derrick Nnadi (six sacks, 10 tackles for loss), Demarcus Christmas (21 tackles), Josh Sweat (seven sacks, 11.5 TFLs) and Brian Burns (9.5 sacks, 10.5 TFLs) all return, and ESPN 300 defensive end Joshua Kaindoh is in for spring.That’s a pretty heady group for starters, and depth is expected to be better this season as well. There are high expectations in Tallahassee this spring, and the returning defensive line is a big reason why."
Thoughts
Clemson’s defensive line was quite a bit better in 2016 according to Football Outsiders, and that was with DeMarcus Walker in the lineup.
The ‘Noles wrecked havoc on opposing quarterbacks, but it was Clemson who was more balanced in getting after the quarterback AND stopping the run. In fact, they didn’t ranked any lower than No. 33 in the country in any of stats measured by Football Outsiders.
FSU football came in at No. 55, No. 44 and No. 43 in a few categories. Mainly due to not being as effective against the run and opposing offenses having more success on standard downs.
Next: Check The Cool Awards We Gave To The 2017 Recruiting Class
FSU will have the opportunity to field of one the most deep and talented defensive fronts in the country. I can’t front. Clemson will likely have a small edge when it comes to the defensive line based solely on experience at this point.