Clemson released its summer depth chart and there weren’t many surprises
As most Clemson fans know, Dabo Swinney isn’t really into depth charts. Today we got the first one of the 2019 season and outside of one or two spots, it was about what most would have expected.
Derion Kendrick was listed as a starting cornerback opposite of preseason All ACC selection AJ Terrell. Kendrick received high praise during the spring after moving over from receiver.
Coming out of spring as a starter, ahead of both Mario Goodrich and Kyler McMichael says it all. Goodrich is listed as backup to Kendrick and McMichael is listed behind Terrell. One player who wasn’t present during the spring and who could potentially crack the two deep is Andrew Booth. A former five star recruit, Booth is expected to come in ready to compete for playing time. How much remains to be seen.
At defensive end, as most would have guessed, Xavier Thomas and Justin Foster were listed as starters. Behind Thomas is Logan Rudolph and KJ Henry is behind Foster. Whether Henry is ready to push Foster for that top spot will be something to watch.
On the interior, behind starters Jordan Williams and Nyles Pinckney, Xavier Kelly and freshman Tyler Davis are the backups. Davis was another who received rave reviews during the spring. Look for him on the field early and often. After converting from end a year ago, the team needs Kelly to be make an impact this season in order to keep the other guys fresh as possible.
At linebacker, Chad Smith is listed as the starting MIKE. With the transfer of Shaq Smith, that was expected. Interesting enough, there are no backups listed behind him. There should be a lot of good competition coming up between some of the young guys for playing time behind Smith
One mild surprise was Amari Rogers still being listed as a starter despite tearing an ACL early on in the spring. Cornell Powell is listed as his backup and Brannon Spector is listed as third string. Who will step into that spot vacated by the injured Rogers will be something worth watching throughout camp as well. It is also worth noting Rogers is still listed as the top kick returner, with Kendrick listed as the number two guy, and Lyn J Dixon as the number three.
The other two starting receivers were Justyn Ross and Tee Higgins. No surpsrise there of course. Behind Ross is TJ Chase and Joe Ngata, and behind Higgins is Diondre Overton and Frank Ladson. Watch for both freshman to really push Chase and Overton. It is possible we see one, or both eventually as the backups before the season is done.
The rest of the depth chart can be found at the link below, as well as the complete online version of the 2019 media guide.
2019 Online Media Guide/Summer Depth Chart
