Clemson LB Jake Venables Eager for Physical and Mental Challenge from Fighting Irish
No. 1 Clemson will hit the road to No. 4 Notre Dame and the Tigers will be without the services of both quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the "defensive quarterback" in linebacker James Skalski among others.
But in Tigertown, Dabo Swinney has built a program that lives by a "next man up" mentality. That mindset and precise preparation for both the starters and reserves have paved the way for Clemson's 7-0 start.
Clemson hopes that trend carries over into this weekend's top-five ACC Showdown against Notre Dame.
Linebacker Jake Venables is excited to take the field again in Skalski's absence as the heart of the defense. He's anticipating a tough challenge Saturday night in South Bend.
"They are a veteran group. They're pretty good and they've been good this year," Venables said.
Two years removed from the 2018 Cotton Bowl and facing quarterback Ian Book, this defense knows it will have its hands full working to contain this Fighting Irish offense.
However, this is far from the first time this season Clemson faced a mobile and elusive quarterback having lined up against Miami's D'Eriq King, Virginia's Brennan Armstrong, and Boston College's Phil Jurkovec.
"You definitely have to take into account the quarterback run game, that can hurt you," Venables said. "We'll have to do a good job of containing him and then rallying to the ball when he does decide to take off and run."
Venables has answered the bell this season and filled in nicely at linebacker when his number was called. The redshirt sophomore was credited with seven tackles each against (then) No. 7 Miami, Syracuse, and last weekend against Boston College in his second straight start.
It shouldn't come as a surprise how well Venables understands the defense and has been able to execute the game plan considering his dad Brent Venables is the defensive coordinator.
It's a unique dynamic between the two but Jake said it's been a fun experience and nothing has really changed in his preparation or on gameday.
"It's kind of the same as when I would get in before, just now it's earlier in the game. We still come over and make the adjustments as we would in the third or fourth quarter or throughout the game," Jake Venables said. "The intensity is still there, the details are still there and nothing really changes regardless of who goes into the game."
Venables added that his personal preparation hasn't changed despite taking over Skalski's starting role as he recovers from a groin injury suffered at Georgia Tech. For the redshirt sophomore, he set his mind on improving his approach last season.
"I think it goes back to last year when I kind of stepped into the second team spot and I just took my preparation to the next level. I'm just trying to prepare every game like I'm going to be the starter regardless if I play or not."
