Clemson star defenders returning for another season

Clemson star defensive linemen Tyler Davis and Ruke Orhorhoro have announced that they are returning for another season.

The two should combine to be one of the top defensive tackle duos in college football in 2023. Both players had previously accepted invitations to the Senior Bowl, before announcing Friday that they will be back.

Orhorhoro appeared in all 14 games in 2022, making nine starts. He finished with 23 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and 4 sacks as a part-time starter.

Davis appeared in 12 games, making 11 starts. He had 31 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

Clemson is getting back several starters from a defense that ranked No. 28 nationally, allowing 334 yards per game.

Defensive end Xavier Thomas, cornerback Sheridan Jones and safety Jalyn Phillips announced Thursday that they are also returning for one more season.

In total, Clemson is returning nine starters from last season if you count Thomas, who would have likely been a starter if not for injuries.

The Tigers are losing defensive end KJ Henry, defensive end Myles Murphy, defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and linebacker Trenton Simpson off of the 2022 defense.

Clemson finished the 2022 season 11-3 (8-0) and now heads into another important offseason as the Tigers work to get back to being national title contenders.

Clemson went 10-3 in 2021, meaning that the Tigers suffered six losses the past two seasons.

In the previous six seasons prior to this two-year stretch, Clemson lost seven games total.

Even Clemson’s most recent College Football Playoff appearance in 2020 ended poorly with the Tigers losing 49-28 to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

Most teams in college football would still trade places with Clemson in a heartbeat, but the Tigers haven’t been truly elite each of the past two seasons.

Does that mean the Clemson program is slipping? Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney was asked what he would say to people who believe it is following Friday’s Orange Bowl loss.

“I don’t really know what to say to them. We’re 11-3. Sure, I wish we were undefeated, but we’ve won the league seven out of the last eight years. I think that’s only happened one other time, and that was in the ’70s by Alabama,” Swinney said.

“We’ve been pretty consistent, and we’re going to continue to be consistent and keep trying to do everything we can to be undefeated around here. Nobody out there has higher expectations than what we have. I promise you that. We’ll keep battling. We’ll keep working. There’s a lot of great days ahead. A lot of great days ahead. People say what they want to say. Always have, always will. We’re just going to keep doing what we do.”