Venables: This Challenge is About Clemson as Much as Miami

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables is trying to get his players to improve and take an inside-out approach to get prepared for the top-10 showdown against Miami.

Miami's D'Eriq King is not the first dual-threat, dynamic playmaker at quarterback that Brent Venables has had to figure out how to stop.

He's simply just the latest, but regardless, the defensive coordinator of No. 1 Clemson gets excited about preparing for each and every opponent. 

"It's a big challenge, make no mistake about it when it's hard," Venables said. "Each and every week, you got different challenges, both internally and externally.

This week is no different, but stopping King and the No. 7 Hurricanes, who are averaging an ACC-best 43.3 points per game, isn't all he's trying to do this week.

"Our biggest thing, I'll be very honest, we've got to get better. We've got to improve," Venables said. "Your schemes are as good as the players that are executing them, with precision, with understanding, with anticipation, with aggressiveness. So, yes you have to get around a lot of answers for certain things, but...to me, I think the biggest thing for us right now is to continue to improve." 

Coming out of the Virginia game, in which Clemson gave up 23 points and the most yards to an ACC team since 2017, he's working to fix the big things like fundamentals, alignments, discipline, chemistry and cohesion. 

Those things are tied into the scheme, but if you can't do the above well, what you call won't matter against the Hurricanes, who will challenge the Tigers with Rhett Lashlee's offense that tries to keep you off balance as a defense. 

"It starts with the run game and their ability to run the football really, really well," Venables said. "They got explosive players. Both the guy that's receiving the snap and the guys that he's handing it off to and then they're RPO guys that behind you. Some of the most dynamic skilled personnel in all the college football rivals anybody. And so that's a challenge in its own, but one we're incredibly excited about."

Venables wants his team to have that inside out approach. It doesn't help to worry so much about Miami if his Tigers can't play within themselves. 

"Every week staying in the same kind of routine you don't watch anymore or less film," Venables said. "You don't need to rehab any more or less, you don't need to practice anymore or less. To establish consistency in the program and trust and belief in what you do, you've got to have that one-game mindset."