London Merritt doesn’t sound like a newcomer anymore.
After enough time around Clemson to know the rhythms of the place - from running down the Hill to working in Death Valley and grinding through humid summer mornings on the Dike - the former Colorado defender speaks like someone who has settled in. And what he’s settled on is this: Clemson is being overlooked.
That belief sits at the center of Merritt’s outlook as the Tigers head toward a kickoff with LSU. While the national conversation has been lukewarm after Clemson’s 7-6 season, Merritt is leaning into the doubt.
“Shoot, everybody,” Merritt said when asked who has stood out on his side of the ball. “I can even tell you, everybody's doing their thing. We've got a really good defense, and I'm really excited about it.”
He didn’t stop there. Merritt made it clear he thinks the outside world is ready to sleep on Clemson again, and he’s fine with that.
“People are going to make us look like the underdogs, but I feel like we will definitely surprise a lot of people and come out strong,” Merritt said.
A big reason for his optimism is what he’s seen since the spring. Merritt pointed to the way Tom Allen has kept driving home his standards, with his message carrying through the speakers around the practice facility and into the team’s daily work.
In Merritt’s view, the defense already had the pieces. What’s changed is how much of it is showing up on the field.
“We always had it,” Merritt said. “We're just implementing a lot more things into what we do. We kind of imprint the best tackling team in the nation, so we definitely work on a lot of tackling and make sure we're good in that aspect of football.”
For Merritt, though, this isn’t just about technique or scheme. He keeps coming back to the feel of the group, the kind of thing that’s harder to quantify but easy to recognize once you’re in it.
“Consistency. Dogs, you've got dogs everywhere on the field,” Merritt said.
“It's just so - it's hard to explain, but I just know. I just feel the energy.”
That’s the edge Clemson will try to carry with it into Baton Rouge in a few weeks: belief, bought-in confidence, and a defender who thinks the Tigers have more in them than the rest of the country is willing to admit.
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Dabo Thinks Clemson Is Ready For Its Toughest Early Test
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Swinneys confidence is rooted less in the matchup itself than in what Clemson has already put itself through to get ready for it. The setting will be difficult and the atmosphere should be intense, but he believes the Tigers are built to handle it and compete, which is exactly the kind of conviction a team wants going into one of its toughest early tests. [Read more 🡒]