Clemson Tigers Edge Rusher Receives Accolades for Impressive Performance

T.J. Parker had the best game of his career for the Clemson Tigers in Week 12

Clemson defensive lineman T.J. Parker (12) arrives with the team before football team practice before the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at Fernandina Beach High School in Jacksonville, Florida, Wednesday, December 27, 2023. / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Clemson Tigers were able to keep their playoff hopes alive, as they defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers in a closer than expected matchup. 

With the Panthers being without their starting quarterback, this game felt like it was going to be somewhat easy for the Tigers as a double-digit favorite. However, that was far from the case, as the Clemson struggled to escape Pittsburgh with the win. 

It was a massive victory for the Tigers, as they were able to keep their hopes of competing for an ACC Championship alive. While the Tigers will be scoreboard watching in the next couple of weeks, they finished conference play with an impressive 7-1 record. 

In the victory, quarterback Cade Klubnik received a lot of attention for his performance, as he finished just shy of 300 yards passing, and he ran for the 50-yard game-winning touchdown. While it was certainly a great performance by the junior, he wasn’t the only player at Clemson that had a great game. 

On the defensive side of the ball, edge rusher T.J. Parker had one of his best games of the season. In the win, Parker had a ridiculous four-sack performance. It was one of the best performances of any player in college, and he will certainly receive a lot of praise. 

Mitch Kaiser of Pro Football Focus recently named edge rusher Parker the Defensive Player of the Week. 

“Parker was a game-changer for Clemson in Week 12, putting up a season-high eight pressures — four of which were sacks. He also forced a fumble and made six defensive stops. In all, Parker earned an elite 91.5 PFF overall grade in the Tigers' big win over Pittsburgh.”

The performance of Parker was a big reason why the Tigers were able to secure the win against the Panthers, as his four-sack performance will go down as one of the best games by any player on the team this season. 

After the big game, the sophomore is now up to nine sacks on the campaign, which is the most on the team by five. Getting after the passer hasn’t been an area of strength for Clemson, but the unit looked superb against Pittsburgh. 

With the victory, Clemson will now be hoping for some help in the ACC, as they likely won’t be able to get into the college football playoff without winning the conference. As they watch on in the coming weeks, their next matchup will be against The Citadel.