CLEMSON | When the average Clemson fan thinks back to the 2016 and 2018 national titles, here are the players that come to mind most from those triumphs over Alabama:
OK, maybe there are exceptions. Maybe some of you think of A.J. Terrell, whose pick-6 early in the 2018 game set the tone for an uncommonly jittery, flawed night for Tua Tagovailoa in Santa Clara.
Join Tigerillustrated.com subscribers on The West Zone message board!
But on the whole, in the minds of most, the most enduring images from those two championships will always be a group of offensive players doing superhuman things.
And while that's not unfair, it's also not representative. Because, well, without some extraordinary defensive stops in 2016 the offense is probably in a much deeper hole than 24-14 entering the fourth quarter. And without an astounding run of defensive dominance in the 2018 game, it's probably a 51-48 shootout and the last team with the ball wins.
