Defensive Observations from Day 1 of Spring Practice

Clemson's journey to reclaiming an ACC Championship began Wednesday as the Tigers opened spring practice at the practice fields behind the Allen Reeves Football Complex.

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Clemson's journey to reclaiming an ACC Championship began Wednesday as the Tigers opened spring practice at the practice fields behind the Allen Reeves Football Complex.

The media was allowed to watch the first six periods of practice. Here are a few news and notes from the defensive side of the ball from the time we were allowed on the practice fields.

*Defensive tackles Bryan Bresee and Tre Williams, who did not participate in practice, were running along the sideline. Both players looked well. Bresee was running with a knee brace, but it did not seem to cause him any issues.

*New defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin is already showing he is going to do somethings a little different than Brent Venables. During the defense's two-minute drill, he changed things up a little by giving the scout team a few plays to run to see how the defense might react to the plays.

*The last time the media got to watch Goodwin coach was prior to the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando, Florida. At the time, it was easy to see that Goodwin was still running practice the way Venables ran practice. On Wednesday, it was obvious Goodwin was running his practice. He looked more comfortable and in control of practice and the individual drills at linebacker.

*It seemed like they did a pretty good job reacting. R.J. Mickens intercepted a pass while freshman cornerback Toriano Pride, Jr. knocked down a pass in the end zone.

*Speaking of freshmen, freshman corner Jeadyn Lukus looked impressive during individual drills. He checked in at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds. Though he is taller than most corners, he definitely looks the part.

*Freshman safety Sherrod Covil was getting a lot of one-on-one instruction from safeties coach Micky Conn.

*New defensive tackles coach Nick Eason stayed true to his word. He was very hands on in practice, a little different than the approach Todd Bates had.