Clemson’s defense ranks among best in nation. Here’s why that’ll be tested vs Pitt

The ACC in 2021 was supposed to be a conference full of high-quality quarterbacks.

Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei was in the Heisman conversation and Sam Howell was the conference’s preseason player of the year for UNC. Miami’s D’Eriq King and Louisville’s Malik Cunningham were also predicted to have standout seasons.

Almost two months later, there’s one ACC quarterback gaining national recognition as a potential Heisman candidate and midseason All-American by multiple media outlets: Kenny Pickett.

Pitt’s fifth-year senior signal caller is among the top 10 in the country in nine categories, including third in passing efficiency (181.83), third in points responsible for per game (24.0), fourth in passing touchdowns (21), fourth in overall points responsible for (144) and fifth in total offense (352.3).

He’ll be the biggest challenge Clemson’s defense will face this season when the Tigers go to Pittsburgh for the first time ever on Saturday.

“I thought a year ago, he had a great year,” Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “You see more of the same: very consistent, makes very few mistakes as far as decision-making. Great leader, tremendous feel in the pocket. He’s patient. He’s confident in his offensive line. He’s got a big arm. He’s dual-threat, so he can extend plays. Keeps his eyes down the field, can really run, excellent runner. Big, strong. He’s fast. He ran away from Trenton Simpson last year.

“He’s got a great complement of receivers, a ton of experience around him, but he makes everybody better.”

On the year, Pickett has recorded 1,934 passing yards with 21 touchdowns and a 69.8% completion rate. He’s also compiled 180 rushing yards and three scores on 48 carries to help the Panthers (5-1, 2-0 ACC) accumulate 3,183 total yards of offense. Venables compared Pickett to former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow in terms of his experience, calmness, accuracy and ability to make plays.

“Got a good complement of players around him just like Joe did and a good system that takes advantage of his skill set,” Venables added. “Just thinking about the most recent guys, he’s probably the best comparison, most recent.”

When it comes to the weapons around Pickett, there isn’t just one guy the Tigers will have to worry about. Targets are spread out among a deep group of receivers, eight of which have recorded 10 or more receptions and two with 20 or more catches. In total, 16 Panthers have made at least one catch.

Jordan Addison leads the group with 34 receptions for 586 yards, the longest of which was 67 yards, with nine touchdowns for an average of 97.7 yards per game.

“He’s incredibly explosive, catches everything,” Venables said of Addison. “They do a really good job of finding ways to get free releases for him and put him in space to make plays. They put a lot of pressure on you with the complement of skill players that they have. … Kenny does a great job of reading the defense and getting the ball where it needs to be. Jordan’s a terrific player.”

Similarly, Pitt head football coach Pat Narduzzi said Clemson’s defense will be the Panthers’ biggest challenge of the year. The group is plus-3 this season in the turnover margin and is ranked 24th in the country in overall defense, giving up 314.7 yards per outing, fifth in red zone defense, allowing only five touchdowns in 18 red zone attempts, and is second behind Georgia in scoring defense with 12.50 points given up per game.

“They have the largest volume of defense that we’ll see from a certain scheme, so they throw a lot of different looks out,” Pickett said. “I think that’s one of the things they do really well.”

The Panthers’ mentor also mentioned how important linebacker James Skalski is to the Tigers’ defense. Skalski, a sixth-year senior, is tied with “bruise brother” Baylon Spector for a team-high 49 tackles with four pass breakups in 329 snaps played.

“I don’t know how many more years he’s got left, but he’s the computer of their defense,” Narduzzi said of Skalski. “He gets it going and he gets them lined up and they know what’s going on. They check a lot of things to formations, and it’s something we have to do a good job of game planning on the other side of the ball.”

While Clemson has depth at just about every position on the defensive side, the defensive backs’ depth took a hit when Andrew Booth (hamstring) and Fred Davis (ankle) were out against Syracuse. In Booth’s place as a starter, Sheridan Jones filled in at the other corner spot with Mario Goodrich, who is encouraged by the progress of both Jones and freshman Nate Wiggins.

“They come out here every day on the practice field and they’re getting better,” Goodrich said. “Everybody can see it around them, and just developing depth, for them to be better in the future and for them to be better when we need them down the line. That was good to see them. I like seeing them on the field.”

Clemson heads into the first-ever game at Heinz Field as an underdog. It’s not something that’s happened often during Clemson’s run of success the last seven years.

Don’t tell that to Goodrich, though. He says he treats every game as if the Tigers are an underdog because of how much attention gets put on corners. Getting beat for a big play or a score is the last thing he’d want. To avoid that against Pitt’s deep group of receivers will be a crucial challenge with Pickett orchestrating the offense.

Goodrich did well enough at it last year against Pitt, accounting for two of the Tigers’ four interceptions against Pickett. The group also sacked the Panther six times. Xavier Thomas, Trenton Simpson and Spector each had one.

“You just know you have to come out and play hard every game, knowing that your opponent is going to give you their best shot,” Goodrich said. “You’ve got to play to a standard because everybody else is going to take their best shot.”