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CLEMSON -- A lot of words have been written about Clemson football since the last time Clemson played football, but probably not enough about the void left by James Skalski and Baylon Spector at the inside linebacker positions.
Yes, it's totally fine to be optimistic about the top-end talent at the second level boasted by Trenton Simpson and Barrett Carter. You're also justified in being excited about the future of LaVonta Bentley and Jeremiah Trotter.
But it's probably not wise to do all that at the expense of glossing over the following numbers: 122, 58, 185 and 520.
The first number represents career games played by Skalski and Spector. The second is career starts, the third is 2021 tackles, and the fourth number is career tackles.
That's a lot to replace, folks.
Here's a reasonable middle-of-the-road take: It's too pessimistic to say those two guys can't be replaced, but probably too optimistic to say they'll be replaced with nary a hiccup.
