In 2014, Clemson finished 10-3 after their third straight bowl win, with their latest victory coming against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Russell Athletic Bowl. It wasn’t exactly a landmark victory, but it ended a year plagued with QB injuries on a positive note. The Tigers still had just one ACC Championship since their 1991 title, but they broke their losing streak to the South Carolina Gamecocks and appeared poised for continued progress in the years ahead. Those positive expectations were wildly exceeded as the next four seasons would become not only the best four-year stretch in Clemson history, but in college football history. One big reason for that was due to a major signing in the offseason: defensive tackle Christian Wilkins.

A five-star recruit from Suffield Academy in Connecticut, Christian Wilkins chose Clemson over geographically closer options Boston College, Penn State, and Ohio State. He made the 900 mile trip south and began making an immediate impact as a true freshman. By the end of the regular season, Clemson was undefeated and Wilkins was in the two-deep behind DT Carlos Watkins. After beating UNC in the ACC Championship, the Tigers were invited to their first ever College Football playoff and were matched up against Oklahoma, who they played the year before in the Russell Athletic Bowl. It was in this game that Wilkins had one of the most memorable plays of his entire career.

After beating the Sooners, Clemson would lose their final game, the National Championship game, in Glendale, AZ against the Alabama Crimson Tide. It was a heartbreaking loss, but the 14-1 season marked the start of an amazing run and the first year of a spectacular career for Christian Wilkins. He played in 11 games and gathered 4.5 tackles for loss including 2 sacks as a true freshman.

Christian Wilkins Statistics Year Games Tackles Tackles for Loss Sacks Forced Fumbles Fumbles Recovered Year Games Tackles Tackles for Loss Sacks Forced Fumbles Fumbles Recovered 2015 11 33 4.5 2 1 0 2016 15 48 13 3.5 0 2 2017 14 60 9 5 0 0 2018 15 51 14 5.5 1 2

After falling just short against Alabama, the Tigers returned in 2016 with a laser-focus on returning to the national title. It was the last year in orange for several key pieces on offense and it felt like the Tigers’ big chance. Unfortunately, they’d have to overcome a foot injury to DE Austin Bryant that left them thin on the edge. Then-sophomore Christian Wilkins, who was set to continue playing his natural role at defensive tackle, got called on to move out of position for that season and play on the outside. Despite his size, Wilkins showed the athleticism to excel at the position and thrived playing at defensive end.



He racked up 13 TFLs while setting the Clemson DE record for passes broken up, slapping down passes at the line of scrimmage time and time again. He didn’t play only at DE though. He shifted inside at times and made an impact on special teams. The season ended in storybook fashion, and Wilkins was ready to celebrate:



That wasn’t the end of the line for Wilkins though. The rising junior moved back to his natural three-technique defensive tackle position and was now known nationally as a rising star. Back at DT, his athleticism paid dividends as he sliced through offensive lines to pressure QBs while still having the requisite size to stuff the run. Here’s him running right by Miami’s offensive line as he the D-line dominated the night.



He racked up five sacks on the year and was named a second-team All-American by the AP (he was third-team the year prior). The season ended on a sour note as Clemson’s offense was dominated by Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, but it seemed Wilkins had little left to prove in college football. He’d done it all on the field and become the face of the Clemson Tigers - sans Deshaun Watson - in the process. The beloved Tiger seemed NFL-bound, but received an NFL draft grade below the first round. After much debate, he decided to rejoin the other three starters along the defensive line and return for an encore.

That defensive line received more hype than any in memory and was expected to be one of the greatest ever.

There are four covers for this year’s @SInow college football preview. This one features those Power Rangers on Clemson’s d-line. pic.twitter.com/Pm0AOfUVNj — Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) August 7, 2018



Wilkins got even better at DT while flashing even more versatility. He was great as usual on special teams:



After catching a TD against Troy his sophomore year, he added two rushing TDs in three rushing attempts as a senior. He barrelled into the end zone at FSU and took a toss and dove in against U of SC.



His excellence on the field was only surpassed by his character. When QB Kelly Bryant left the team after the GT game to redshirt and transfer, Wilkins was spotting taking new QB freshman Trevor Lawrence out to breakfast to get to know him. It’s only a small anecdote, but it follows the theme:

“He’s a great human being that’s going to phenomenal things in the world. He just happens to be a great football player, and that’s just a small part of who he is as a person.” – Dabo Swinney

He was an Academic All-American and became the first William V. Campbell Trophy winner in Clemson history - an award Coach Swinney called the “Academic Heisman.”

Wilkins’ Clemson career concluded with a fourth straight battle against Alabama. This time around, it was the Tigers who won in the trenches as they blew out the Tide 44-16. It is only fitting that Wilkins went out on top. He’ll long be a fan favorite and and regarded with legendary status in Clemson lore with players like CJ Spiller and Deshaun Watson. It’s 100% deserving. It’s extremely rare to get four healthy seasons out of a player of his caliber, but he gave that to Clemson and we couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you Christian! We wish you the best of luck in the NFL draft and in life. We’re glad you’ll always be part of the Clemson family!