Clemson Football: 5 Weakest Positions to Worry About

With college football season just waiting in the wings, teams can begin anew, either rebuilding from the ground up or picking up the pieces to what may have been a not so special ending.

For Clemson, it's the latter, picking up the pieces from an embarrassing 70-33 loss against West Virginia's Air Raid.

In 2012, there will be new wrinkles on offense, a new defensive coordinator and a head coach with high expectations for a team that won its first ACC championship since 1991 last year.

But to meet these expectations, the Tigers must resolve several key positions if they want to make it back to Charlotte for another chance at the ACC title.  

Safety

Arguably the biggest problem for Clemson's defensive struggles last season was its porous secondary, and despite its youth, it never really made any progress as the season went on. This was the case at safety, with a hampered Rashard Hall and an inconsistent Jonathan Meeks roaming the back end.

Now, with a hopefully healthy Hall and an improved Meeks, the Tigers must still find some depth. With the transfer of Carlton Lewis, the Tigers must find suitable backups. Rising sophomore Robert Smith struggled last season in spots, and no backups have yet to fully establish themselves behind Meeks and Hall.

The Tiger safeties must show improvement to plug up those holes in the passing game, especially when covering the deep middle field in passing situations.

Linebacker

The Tigers truggled to stop the run as much as they did the pass. The linebackers failed to get off blocks and get to the ball-carrier, and at times, looked lost on the field and out of place, as though the defense was too much for them to handle.

Enter Brent Venables.

The former defensive coordinator was brought from Oklahoma to help improve the linebacker play, especially against spread offenses and mobile quarterbacks. Now, with all of Clemson's linebackers returning, Venables has worked to make this group better, permanently entrenching Anthony at Mike linebacker and made open competition to the rest of this group.

With names like Lateek Townsend and Justin Parker making a case for themselves, this group may be the best improved position in 2012 depending on how long it takes for Venables' defensive schemes to sink in.

Offensive Guard

In an offense that will be loaded at the skill position with Deandre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and a plethora of receiving talents with starting capability, along with an All-ACC running back in Andre Ellington and a solid quarterback in Tajh Boyd, the 2012 season could hinge on the success of the offensive line, especially at the guard position.

The Tigers must replace three of five starters, and the guard position struggled last year, especially in short-yardage situations, where guard play is crucial. The next guards in line are sophomore Kalon Davis, who has been up and down at times, and a converted defensive tackle in Tyler Shatley. While he has been praised in practice, it will remain to be seen how he performs in an actual game.

If the Tigers want to open holes for Ellington, the guards must be more aggressive at the point of attack; for a back like Ellington, that will go a long way towards a dynamic Clemson offense.

Offensive Tackle

As is the case with the guard position, the tackles must step up to keep Tajh Boyd upright and healthy, as he is the captain of this Chad Morris offense. 

Last year, the tackles saw improvement as the season went on, and former left tackle Philip Price was the best and toughest player on the line. Chad Morris even stated that he wanted more linemen in the mold of the now-departed Price.

Coming out of the spring, Brandon Thomas will be trusted with Boyd's blind spot at left tackle, and Gifford Timothy appears to be gaining more confidence from the coaches at right tackle.

If the Tigers want to see their talented wide receivers play to their capability, the tackles must keep Boyd healthy so he can deliver the touchdowns to playmakers Deandre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins.

Cornerback

Heading back to the secondary, the Tigers' corners struggled to contain receivers from reaching the second level and were not very instinctive in man coverage and had serious tackling issues. Having such young corners did not help either.

But with a new defensive coordinator and all of the secondary returning, the Tigers will be looking for more out of their secondary in the passing game. And with the addition of highly touted freshman Travis Blanks to the position, fans are waiting in anticipation to see the kind of secondary they saw in the past couple of seasons, ranking in the Top 25.