2019 Clemson football projections on the HG
What’s to like
Clemson has college football’s brightest star returning as their signal caller in 2019. That’s a great note to build around here. Trevor Lawrence, with his hulking frame and special talent, is perhaps the most surefire quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck or Cam Newton. Some have even raised the question of whether a certain professional spring league might try to lure him out of college a year early.
That sounds like a ton of pressure, but keep in mind that the true sophomore will have a superstar tailback in Caleb Etienne returning, as well as a star-studded group of receivers that would make even Ole Miss fans blush. Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, Amari Rodgers and company should form one of the more historic seasons we’ve seen from pass catchers, even in a pass-happy era.
And to top the cake, the program is guided by one of the best motivators in all of sports. While Clemson ranks 10th in 3-year talent average, you can bet the players that Dabo Swinney has wooed to campus will reach their potential.
What to be concerned about
As for concerns, they’re certainly visible most clearly along the line of scrimmage. For starters, the Tigers should be more than serviceable on the OL, but they will be replacing a center and left tackle. Along the defensive line, it’s not just the three first-rounders that hit the exits, but three productive seniors, as well.
It’s hard to be concerned about the cornerback position with AJ Terrell locking down one side, but it’s a position the Tigers will be young at and will rely on experienced safeties to fill the gaps early in the season.
What the HourGlass says
This is the first season (entering third season) has not named Alabama the national champion. Instead, the analytics project that Clemson will again make the National Championship, but be upended by Georgia for the crown. Most of the media will have Clemson as the favorite, and that is totally understandable – but, key losses on defense are too much to overcome in a physical championship game.
2019 HG analytics pick: 12-0, National Championship runner up.
2018 Analytics Pick 13-0; Actual Record 13-0 (100 percent accuracy)
2017 Analytics Pick 12-1; Actual Record 12-1 (100 percent accuracy)
Two-year analytic percentage on Clemson = 100 percent
Hour Glass National Recruiting Ranking 9th – inside our Realistic College Football Playoff Championship talent line on our talent index. This means they have a roster worthy of championship status.
National Coaching Rank for Dabo Swinney on HG Scale: 2nd (Swinney Stamp at 39) – Average coaching value for 2019 set at 5.5.
Returning Clemson quarterback play rated 1st in the country out of 130 teams. Average quarterback stamp nationally for 2019 is 9.5. Clemson has a quarterback metric value of 41.3.
ODE Analytics – NOTE: ODE is our offensive and defensive scoring efficiency ranking for each team. We use a two-year evaluation of each program.
Clemson ranks 3rd in the country in our 2019 ODE evaluation. Offensively they have a ranking of 7th in the country and defensively 1st in the country.
Editors Note: All photos courtesy of 247sports.com
