The 2018 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Memorial Stadium, also known as "Death Valley," and competed in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by head coach Dabo Swinney in his tenth full year and 11th overall since taking over midway through 2008 season.
Clemson, coming off a College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Alabama in 2017, began the year ranked second in the preseason AP Poll and Coaches Poll. The Tigers won all 12 of their regular season games, securing their first undefeated regular season since 2015. Clemson won their fourth consecutive ACC title by defeating Pittsburgh in the 2018 ACC Championship Game. In the final College Football Playoff rankings of the 2018 season, Clemson was ranked second, earning them their fourth consecutive playoff bid and a spot in the 2018 Cotton Bowl Classic against third-ranked Notre Dame. The Tigers won that game 30–3, advancing them to the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship against Alabama, their fourth consecutive year meeting the Crimson Tide in the playoff and third time in four years doing so in the national title game. Clemson won that game in dominant fashion, 44–16, to win the Tigers' third national championship in school history and second in three years. They were the first undefeated College Football Playoff champion and the first major college football program to finish with a record of 15–0 since Penn in 1897. The team is considered by some analysts to be one of the greatest in college football history.
The Tigers were led offensively by true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who won a highly publicized battle for the starting role over 2017 starter Kelly Bryant. Sophomore running back Travis Etienne contributed significantly, rushing for over 1,600 yards and an FBS-leading 24 rushing touchdowns. He was named ACC Player of the Year following the regular season. On defense, the team was anchored by a veteran defensive line consisting of Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence, and Austin Bryant, all of whom were subsequently drafted in the 2019 NFL draft.
Offseason
Position key BackBCenterCCornerbackCBDefensive backDBDefensive endDEDefensive linemanDLDefensive tackleDTEndEFullbackFBGuardGHalfbackHBKickerKKickoff returnerKROffensive tackleOTOffensive linemanOLLinebackerLBLong snapperLSPunterPPunt returnerPRQuarterbackQBRunning backRBSafetySTight endTEWide receiverWR
Offseason departures
NFL draftees
Player Round Pick Team Position Dorian O'Daniel 3 100 Kansas City Chiefs LB Deon Cain 6 185 Indianapolis Colts WR Ray-Ray McCloud 6 187 Buffalo Bills WR Ryan Carter Undrafted Buffalo Bills CB Marcus Edmund Undrafted Los Angeles Chargers CB Van Smith Undrafted Atlanta Falcons S Taylor Hearn Undrafted Carolina Panthers OL
Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown College transferred to Source(s) Jabril Robinson 50 DT 6'2" 270 Senior Leland, NC West Virginia Tucker Israel 10 QB 5'11" 165 Junior Orlando, FL None Zerrick Cooper 6 QB 6'2" 220 Sophomore Jonesboro, GA Jacksonville State Amir Trapp 38 CB 5'8" 170 Sophomore Clemson, SC Furman Sterling Johnson 93 DT 6'4" 300 Sophomore Clayton, NC Coastal Carolina C.J. Fuller 27 RB 5'10" 205 Senior Easley, SC None^ Shadell Bell 11 TE 6'1" 225 Sophomore Decatur, GA Coastal Carolina Josh Belk 94 DT 6'3" 309 Freshman Richburg, SC South Carolina Hunter Johnson 15 QB 6'2" 220 Sophomore Brownsburg, IN Northwestern Kelly Bryant* 2 QB 6'3 225 Senior Calhoun Falls, SC Missouri
^ Prior to the season, C.J. Fuller decided to transfer from the program. However, on October 3, 2018, before he elected a school to transfer to, Fuller died due to a blood clot in his lung. Fuller, age 22, had had surgery two weeks before his death.
Kelly Bryant decided to transfer schools after playing in four games during the 2018 season.
Recruits The Tigers signed a total of 17 recruits, 15 on early signing day and 2 on National Signing Day. The 2018 class was ranked as the best in the ACC and the seventh best nationally by the 247Sports.com Composite Rankings.
Returning starters
Name Number Pos. Hometown Source Mitch Hyatt 75 OL Suwanee, GA Clelin Ferrell 99 DE Richmond, VA Austin Bryant 7 DE Pavo, GA Kendall Joseph 34 LB Belton, SC Christian Wilkins 42 DT Springfield, MA Kelly Bryant 2 QB Calhoun Falls, SC Travis Etienne 9 RB Jennings, LA Hunter Renfrow 13 WR Myrtle Beach, SC Justin Falcinelli 50 C Middletown, MD Tremayne Anchrum 73 OL Powder Springs, GA Dexter Lawrence 90 DT Wake Forest, NC Tre Lamar 57 LB Roswell, GA
Preseason
Award watch lists Listed in the order that they were released Lott TrophyDexter LawrenceDTJRChristian WilkinsDTSRRimington TrophyJustin FalcinelliCSRChuck Bednarik AwardClelin FerrellDEJRDexter LawrenceDTJRChristian WilkinsDTSRMaxwell AwardChristian WilkinsDTSRTravis EtienneRBSOKelly BryantQBSRDavey O'Brien AwardKelly BryantQBSRDoak Walker AwardTravis EtienneRBSOJohn Mackey AwardMilan RichardTESRButkus AwardKendall JosephLBSRTre LamarLBJRBronko Nagurski TrophyAustin BryantDESRClelin FerrellDEJRDexter LawrenceDTJRChristian WilkinsDTSROutland TrophyJustin FalcinelliCSRMitch HyattOTSRDexter LawrenceDTJRChristian WilkinsDTSRLou Groza AwardGreg HuegelKSRWuerffel TrophyChristian WilkinsDTSR Walter Camp AwardDexter LawrenceDTJRChristian WilkinsDTSRTed Hendricks AwardAustin BryantDESRClelin FerrellDEJRJohnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardKelly BryantQBSR
ACC media poll The ACC media poll was released on July 24, 2018. Clemson was the consensus pick to repeat as ACC Champion, receiving 145 votes out of 148 to win the Atlantic Division and 139 of 148 votes to win the Conference Championship.
Media poll (Atlantic) 1 Clemson 1,031 (145) 2 Florida State 789 (1) 3 NC State 712 (2) 4 Boston College 545 5 Louisville 422 6 Wake Forest 413 7 Syracuse 232
Media poll (ACC Championship) 1 Clemson 139 2 Miami (FL) 5 3 NC State 2 4 Florida State 1 Virginia Tech 1
Schedule Clemson announced its 2018 football schedule on January 17, 2018. The 2018 schedule consisted of seven home games and five away games in the regular season. The Tigers hosted ACC foes Syracuse, NC State, Louisville, and Duke and traveled to Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida State and Boston College.
The Tigers hosted three of the four non-conference opponents, Furman from the Southern Conference, Georgia Southern from Sun Belt Conference and South Carolina from the SEC, and traveled to Texas A&M from the SEC.
Personnel
Coaching staff +Clemson Tigers football current coaching staffDabo Swinney Head coach University of Alabama (1993) 16thDanny Pearman Assistant head coach, Special Teams Coordinator, Tight Ends Clemson University (1987) 11thJeff Scott Co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coachClemson University (2003) 11thBrent Venables Defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Kansas State University (1992) 7thMichael Reed Defensive Backs Coach Boston College (1994) 6thTodd Bates Assistant coach, Defensive tackles University of Alabama (2004) 2ndTony Elliott Co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach Clemson University (2002) 8thRobbie Caldwell Assistant coach, Offensive Linemen Furman University (1977) 8thBrandon Streeter Assistant coach, Recruiting Coordinator, Quarterbacks Clemson University (1999) 5thMike Reed Assistant coach, Cornerbacks Boston College (1994) 6thMickey Conn Assistant coach, Safeties University of Alabama (1995) 3rdLemanski Hall Assistant coach, Defensive Ends University of Alabama (1993) 4thZac Alley Graduate assistant Clemson University (2014) 8th
Roster 2018 Clemson Tigers FootballQuarterback 7 Chase Brice – freshman (6'2, 220) 12 Ben Batson – freshman (6'0, 200) 15 Patrick McClure – freshman (6'1, 195) 16 Trevor Lawrence – freshman (6'6, 215)
Running back 9 Travis Etienne Jr. – sophomore (5'10, 200) 21 Darien Rencher – sophomore (5'8, 195) 23 Lyn-J Dixon – freshman (5'10, 195) 26 Adam Choice – graduate (5'9, 220) 28 Tavien Feaster – junior (5'11, 215) 32 Sylvester Mayers – sophomore (5'6, 150) 35 Ty Thomason – junior (5'10, 225) 37 Ryan Mac Lain – senior (5'9, 175)
Wide receiver 1 Trevion Thompson – senior (6'2, 205) 3 Amari Rodgers – sophomore (5'10, 215) 5 Tee Higgins – sophomore (6'4, 210) 8 Justyn Ross – freshman (6'4, 210) 10 Derion Kendrick – freshman (6'0, 195) 13 Hunter Renfrow – senior (5'10, 185) 14 Diondre Overton – junior (6'4, 210) 17 Cornell Powell – junior (6'0, 210) 18 T.J. Chase – sophomore (6'0, 190) 22 Will Swinney – sophomore (5'8, 185) 45 Josh Jackson – sophomore (6'0, 195) 81 Drew Swinney – freshman (5'8, 180) 82 Will Brown – freshman (5'8, 185) 83 Carter Groomes – sophomore (5'8, 185) 85 Max May – freshman (6'1, 195)
Tight end 25 J.C. Chalk – sophomore (6'3, 260) 31 Cole Renfrow – sophomore (5'10, 235) 44 Garrett Williams – junior (6'2, 235) 80 Milan Richard – graduate (6'3, 255) 84 Cannon Smith – senior (6'4, 270) 86 Tyler Brown – sophomore (6'0, 220) 87 J.L Banks – junior (6'1, 240) 88 Braden Galloway – freshman (6'4, 240)
Placekicker 29 B. T. Potter – freshman (5'10, 175) 41 Alex Spence – graduate (6'2, 200) 92 Greg Huegel – senior (5'10, 195) Offensive lineman 50 Justin Falcinelli – OL – graduate (6'4, 315) 59 Gage Cervenka – OL – junior (6'3, 325) 62 Cade Stewart – OL – sophomore (6'3, 310) 64 Pat Godfrey – OL – graduate (6'2, 250) 65 Matt Bockhorst – OG – freshman (6'4, 310) 68 Noah DeHond – OT – freshman (6'7, 310) 70 Seth Penner – OG – senior (6'2, 325) 71 Jordan McFadden – OT – freshman (6'3, 300) 72 Blake Vinson – OT – freshman (6'4, 285) 73 Tremayne Anchrum – OT – junior (6'2, 310) 74 John Simpson – OG – junior (6'4, 330) 75 Mitch Hyatt – OT – senior (6'5, 310) 76 Sean Pollard – OL – junior (6'5, 315) 77 Zach Giella – OL – junior (6'6, 315) 78 Chandler Reeves – OT – sophomore (6'6, 295) 79 Jackson Carman – OL – freshman (6'5, 345)
Defensive lineman 3 Xavier Thomas – DE – freshman (6'2, 260) 7 Austin Bryant – DE – senior (6'6, 280) 13 KJ Henry – DE – freshman (6'4, 250) 17 Justin Mascoll – DE – freshman (6'4, 255) 22 Xavier Kelly – DL – sophomore (6'4, 270) 35 Justin Foster – DE – sophomore (6'2, 260) 42 Christian Wilkins – DT – graduate (6'4, 315) 44 Nyles Pinckney – DT – sophomore (6'1, 300) 45 Chris Register – DE – graduate (6'3, 260) 49 Richard Yeargin – DE – graduate (6'3, 260) 54 Logan Rudolph – DE – freshman (6'2, 245) 59 Jordan Williams – DT – freshman (6'4, 310) 67 Albert Huggins – DT – senior (6'3, 315) 90 Dexter Lawrence – DT – junior (6'4, 350) 91 Darnell Jefferies – DT – freshman (6'2, 275) 94 Jacob Edwards – DE – freshman (6'2, 285) 95 James Edwards – DT – freshman (6'2, 285) 97 Nick Rowell – DT – senior (6'3, 275) 99 Clelin Ferrell – DE – junior (6'4, 265)
Punter 48 Will Spiers – sophomore (6'5, 220) 97 Carson King – junior (5'11, 215) 98 Steven Sawicki – junior (6'3, 240) Linebacker 5 Shaq Smith – sophomore (6'2, 255) 6 Mike Jones Jr. – freshman (6'0, 230) 10 Baylon Spector – freshman (6'1, 230) 15 Jake Venables – freshman (6'1, 225) 30 Jalen Williams – graduate (5'9, 225) 33 J.D. Davis – graduate (6'1, 230) 34 Kendall Joseph – graduate (6'0, 235) 36 Judah Davis – graduate (6'1, 240) 43 Chad Smith – graduate (6'3, 245) 46 John Boyd – freshman (6'0, 215) 47 James Skalski – junior (6'0, 245) 48 Landon Holden – sophomore (6'1, 240) 52 Matthew King – senior (6'0, 230) 53 Regan Upshaw – sophomore (5'11, 235) 56 Luke Price – freshman (6'2, 230) 57 Tre Lamar – junior (6'4, 255)
Defensive back 1 Trayvon Mullen – CB – junior (6'1, 195) 2 Mark Fields – CB – senior (5'10, 180) 8 A. J. Terrell – CB – sophomore (6'2, 190) 9 Brian Dawkins Jr. – CB – sophomore (5'7, 170) 11 Isaiah Simmons – S – sophomore (6'2, 230) 12 K'Von Wallace – DB – junior (5'11, 210) 14 Denzel Johnson – S – junior (6'0, 205) 19 Tanner Muse – S – junior (6'1, 230) 20 LeAnthony Williams Jr. – CB – freshman (5'11, 180) 21 Kyler McMichael – CB – freshman (6'0, 200)