Four-star signee Austin Bryant will arrive to Clemson this summer with a legitimate chance to crack the five-man rotation at defensive end.
\nBryant, who graduated on Saturday from Thomas County Central High School, was one of three defensive ends signed by Clemson in February.
\n\u201cI\u2019m just eager to get to Clemson and start the journey,\u201d he said, during a recent interview with TheClemsonInsider.
\n\u201cUntil then, I\u2019m just working out and preparing for that.\u201d
\nThe regiment is a \u201cfull-body\u201d workout that includes plenty of conditioning.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the biggest thing,\u201d Bryant said, \u201cBeing in shape.\u201d
\nBryant will hit the weight room with just about anybody, as long as they\u2019re willing to offer him a spot.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not picky,\u201d he said. \u201cI work out with my best friend (Ernest Harris). He\u2019s going to Hutchinson Community College, so I workout with him sometimes, work outwith some of the younger guys at the high school.
\n\u201cSo whoever is willing to spot me, that\u2019s who I work out with.\u201d
\nWith the departures of Vic Beasley, Corey Crawford and Tavaris Barnes to the NFL, there was going to be ample opportunity for Bryant to get early playing time. The need intensified last week when redshirt sophomore Ebenezer Ogundeko was kicked off the team.
\n\u201cNothing\u2019s promised, so I\u2019ve got to continue to work like I\u2019ve been doing since the season ended,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cThe chips will fall where they\u2019re supposed to. I can\u2019t really worry about that situation. I\u2019ve just got to do the best I can and everything will work itself out.\u201d
\nIdeally, Bryant would come in and help fill in the production lost with last season\u2019s senior trio, which combined for 17 sacks in 2014.
\nDefensive ends coach Marion Hobby hopes Bryant will eventually emerge as a pass-rush threat, sort of like the Tigers\u2019 all-time sack leader.
\n\u201cNot anywhere close to where Vic Beasley is when he graduated, but kind of that same guy, but with a different frame,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cI mean, that\u2019s been my understanding of it.
\n\u201cI just want to get to where he was when he left, so I\u2019ll continue to work as hard as I can and maybe one day I\u2019ll be at that point.\u201d
\nBryant is also excited about joining a program that\u2019s won 10 or more games in each of the last four seasons.
\n\u201cI\u2019m so anxious to get there and start my journey, because they\u2019ve built themselves up over the last couple of years,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s one of the who\u2019s who of college football right now. I\u2019m excited to have the opportunity to be able to play there these next four or five years.\u201d<\/p>\n