I agree with your two biggest issues, but I think Clawson has 3 issues to address (excluding injuries).
I think we have some very solid, fast, linebackers in the making with the freshmen trio of Chase Jones, Jaylen Hudson, and Zach Ranson. I think all of those guys are going to contribute to our program, and one of them is going to be an NFL football player. We have DJ Taylor returning, along with Ryan Smenda (who improved over the season), and Jaylen Hudson at mike. At buck we’ll have Ja’cquez Williams, Chase Jones, and Ranson. And at rover we will have Luke Masterson and Kenneth Dicks back from injury, and Traveon Redd returning. I feel like we’re in a good spot in terms of linebackers.
I feel the same way with d-line. Ja’corey Johns quietly had a very good redshirt freshman season. Shamar McCollum will continue to improve. We have Rondell Bothroyd, Sulaimon Kamara, Dion Bergan, Tyler Williams, a bunch of talented redshirt freshmen with some big time recruits being added.
The third issue I was talking about was our secondary. Really, the big position of (serious) concern on our football team has been, and will be our secondary. We do have Jasir Taylor coming back, but who’s going to be on the opposite side of the field? Somebody is going to have to play, and as far as I’ve seen, no one on our roster is ready for that yet. Maybe JJ Roberts can make an immediate impact? Isaiah Essissima improves and becomes a viable starter? I would definitely consider moving Coby Davis to corner. It’s where he played in high school, and as far as I am concerned, he has no future at safety. He just doesn’t have it.
At safety Nasir Greer was Nasir Greer. Hopefully he comes back stronger than ever. I thought Trey Rucker showed some potential. But man did he have a rough game against Michigan State. He didn’t look like he wanted to make plays, and he was swinging and missing on just about every tackle. He’s going to have to play better with as much experience as he had this season. Zion Keith needs to come back, I don’t know where he was, but he didn’t play against MState. Another thing I may consider is moving Taylor Morin to safety. That kid is smart, and would be able to pick up the system fast. If he doesn’t end up playing at slot, then he needs to move and play safety because he’s too good not to be on the field. He has instincts, he played safety more in high school than receiver. He could make an immediate impact, and push for a starting job. Definitely a radical option, but I don’t think it would be a inane one.
The defense is set at linebacker and defensive line. We have playmakers, and we have depth. Our secondary is weak. Clawson has talked about developing more depth being the next step at Wake Forest. Well at corner and safety need some depth. And I don’t know where we are going to find it with the players we currently have back there.
This was a rant, and I apologize for making you scroll.