Two Tigers named among ESPN's top defenders of 2000s |
Two Clemson defenders were rated among the
top defenders of the 2000s by ESPN on Wednesday ($).
The 80-man list spanning two decades ranks two Tiger d-linemen with Vic Beasley (63) and Christian Wilkins (73). "One of the early stars of the Dabo Swinney era, Beasley exploded for 22.5 TFLs and 13 sacks as a junior, then returned for his senior season, recorded another 17.5 and nine, respectively, and rose to eighth in the 2015 draft," ESPN's Bill Connelly writes. "(Wilkins) was around for so long that we almost took him for granted. After a solid freshman season, he averaged 12 TFLs, five sacks and five pass breakups for the Tigers. He won two national titles." Beasley is Clemson's all-time leader in sacks (33) and earned back-to-back consensus first-team All-America honors. Wilkins earned the school's fifth unanimous All-America honor as a senior and also won the Willis Award for the nation's top defensive lineman, to go with the 'Academic Heisman' Campbell Award. Heisman finalist Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska topped the list.
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