Phil Steele explains why he's 'bullish' on Clemson

In some ways, Clemson has missed the mark over the past two seasons, at least when it comes to the College Football Playoff. Even so, Phil Steele is very high on the Tigers to quiet some of the criticism surrounding them headed into this upcoming season.

Steele explained why he’s bullish on the Tigers on ‘McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning’ last week. He said that he’s in the minority in his support of Clemson as he actually has Dabo Swinney’s program as a favorite for the duration of their 2023 schedule.

“I’m probably outside the box on Clemson this year. Because it seems like most people don’t even have Clemson in their Top-10 from at the end of the season. But I’m bullish on Clemson,” Steele said.

“I actually have Clemson favored in all 12 games this year,” said Steele. “I think their over-under win total in Vegas is 9.5. So I’m really bullish on Clemson.”

Why is that the case for Steele? He says it comes down to the Tiger’s defensive line. 2022 was the ninth consecutive season that Clemson finished with 42+ sacks. 2018 was their high mark in the stretch with 54. However, in what Swinney told him, this defensive line in ’23 has a chance to be as good as the one in ’18.

Pair that with their revamped offense and Steele thinks things will be right as rain for the Tigers this fall.

“When I talked to Coach Swinney and went over the team with him? He told me, as far as their defensive line goes, that it is a group that doesn’t have the star power of that 2018 group. But this group is deeper in talent and experience than the 2018 group. And that sort of caught my attention,” said Steele. “I liked the defensive line coming in but now I like it even more. I think it’s the best defensive line out there.”

“The offensive line has improved. I think Cade Klubnik will be a solid QB. (And) I like the (Will) Shipley–(Phil) Mafa combination in the backfield,” Steele said.

As far as the ACC, Florida State is a program that’s taking a lot of the spotlight. Louisville, North Carolina, and Miami will be interesting in their own ways as well. With that said, whether you want to hear him or not, Steele is singing Clemson’s praises heading into this season, both in the conference as well as nationally.