Jackson State Tigers

A Clemson star is leading an incredible crop of freshmen D-linemen

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:32 p.m. ET

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The analytics site Pro Football Focus had an interesting piece this week ranking the nation’s top freshmen. It wasn’t much of a surprise to see the first three guys listed: 1. Clemson DT Dexter Lawrence; 2. Houston DT Ed Oliver; and No. 3 Michigan DL Rashan Gary.

These guys are the core of what is shaping up to be a fantastic crop of D-linemen. Both Lawrence and Gary will be in the spotlight this weekend in huge games with Clemson hosting Louisville and Michigan hosting Wisconsin.

The mammoth Lawrence has an 85.8 run grade, tops in the country, according to PFF. Oliver, the smallest and quickest of the trio at 6-foot-1 and 285 pounds, is close to that run grade and also has a run stop grade of 23.4 percent -- highest in the country among all players, not just freshmen. He has 5.5 TFLs and three sacks.

PFF has graded Gary at 13.3 pass rush productivity, which leads all true freshmen edge rushers.

The head-turning performances of these three young D-linemen squares with a lot of the projections I got pre-signing day when I surveyed 36 college coaches to find out which true freshmen they thought would have the biggest impact in 2016. Gary received eight votes, followed by Oliver with four. Alabama offensive tackle Jonah Williams, who PFF ranks at No. 6, received two votes.

Perhaps the strongest quote I got from the whole bunch came from a recruiter who missed out on landing Lawrence: "I loved this kid. He is 6-5, 345 and was the fastest defensive tackle at the Army combine. He's benched 225 30 times and he's not stiff at all. He plays with low-pad level and has really good hands for a high school kid. I think he will (eventually) be a top-10 NFL Draft pick. He's a solid, humble kid. He's a lot bigger than (Rashan) Gary.”

Lawrence is No. 2 on the Tigers in tackles with 28. It’s pretty unusual to see any D-tackle as one of the team’s top tacklers, much less a freshman. He also has seven QB pressures and 3.5 TFLs.

I traded texts on Friday morning with that coach who tried landing Lawrence.

Surprised that he’s already dominating and that it’s happened to fast?

“Nope. Wish we had him."