In The Bleachers With Michael Felder
Clemson has now gone on the road twice this season to knock off top 15 opponents in Louisville and Virginia Tech. A large part of that success has come by way of the defense stepping up and smothering teams early, allowing the offense to put points on the board and "hit mute" on the crowd.
"They turn lions into kittens real quick, and I think that's because defense is always going to travel with you. It wasn't like the offense played lights out football for 60 minutes," said Bleacher Report's Michael Felder. "It was the defense that played well, that's light out and really took the fight out of Virginia Tech. Those folks were ripe for an upset; they were ready for it to happen. But when you don't get anything going early, and you can't get anything going consistently, or right when you think you have a big play and the guy gets tackled, that's the type of thing that takes the air out of a stadium and then it allows the offense to have some room to operate."
One of the best players defensively this season for Clemson has been defensive end Austin Bryant, who has eight and a half tackles for loss, five sacks, and an interception. Felder believes he's not only one of the top players for Clemson, but one of the top players in the country.
"Honestly, I think he should be the first non-quarterback off the board. He is amazing right now," states Felder. "There are two facets to what I saw him do against Virginia Tech. Obviously, you see the outstanding athleticism, but we also see a Clemson coaching staff that understands he can do anything you ask him to do. They had him lined up in an empty set over the point man in bunch, the guy on the line of scrimmage. We saw him, in a bunch formation, blow up a wide receiver, which when you weigh 255 pounds you're supposed to do that. But then he tacked a wide receiver in the open field. That's amazing... that's the type of thing people would ask Mario Williams, the type of thing you would ask Julius Peppers to do..."
While the other Bryant, Kelly Bryant, hasn't been perfect this year on the offensive side of the ball, one thing he has shown is poise in big moments. Felder believes that's a product of sitting behind former Tiger Deshaun Watson, who was known for his ability to stay cool when the lights were shining brightly.
"I think that's a product of sitting behind Watson. I think it's a product of experiencing the success and not getting to be the guy that let them to the success. Now he's in the driver's seat, and I think for him, for Kelly Bryant, he feels like 'I'm not going to mess this up. I feel good, I know I've got the team to do it. I just have to go out there and play ball baby, let's go rock and roll,'" explains Felder. "He's got a calm confidence in him as well. I don't think it's the same quiet, sort of leadership where Deshaun Watson speaks in a normal voice, and everyone comes down to him. Kelly Bryant's got a little bit more energy, a little bit more outburst to him. But his confidence I think is something that he might grow from the players around him who believe he can do it, and then that helps raise him up to a level where he is the guy that's in contention for the Heisman Trophy."