Clemson DC Brent Venables explains defensive strategy that led to early pick six against Alabama

One of the early turning points in the national championship came when Clemson DB A.J. Terrell made an interception against Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown.

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables pointed out after the 44-16 win that his strategy setup Alabama’s offense to throw the ball because of what Clemson did with its strong-side linebacker.

“We were in a cloud coverage, something we hadn’t really done going into the game, and it worked out to perfection,” Venables said.

Venables called a terrific game plan against Alabama as the Tigers shut out the Crimson Tide over the final 44 minutes, and stifled an offense that had won its first 14 games by an average of 31 points.

Alabama was just 4-for-13 on third down, and Tagovailoa 22-for-34 for 295 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Venables on the Pick 6: “We thought they’d throw the ball to us based on what we were doing with our SAM (linebacker). We were in a cloud coverage, something we hadn’t really done going into the game and it worked out to perfection."

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 8, 2019