Clemson Football: 3 reasons the Tigers won't repeat in 2019

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CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 01: Dexter Lawrence #90 reacts as teammate Trayvon Mullen #1 of the Clemson Tigers watches on against the Pittsburgh Panthers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 1, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

3. Impactful departures

The most impressive thing about last year’s team was their defense. The Tigers prevented Notre Dame from scoring a single touchdown and had three goal-line stands against an Alabama offensive featuring four All-Americans. One of the key reasons Clemson was able to do this was because it had five NFL caliber defensive linemen, three of which went in the first round.

In total, the Tigers lost 11 players to the NFL, nine of which were on the defensive side of the ball. While on the other side of the ball, the Tigers lost guard Mitch Hyatt and receiver Hunter Renfrow, who was one of the most sure-handed third-down receivers in the nation.

Clemson was two players short of being able to field an entire NFL defensive unit. You can’t lose that amount of talent and expect to be just as strong the following season. Dabo does a good job of rotating people in so the 2019 defense will still have a number of familiar faces like Xavier Thomas, A.J. Terrell and Isaiah Simmons but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to replace all of those NFL draft picks with players of equal or greater talent.