Opponent Preview – Clemson Tigers

Clemson Tigers 
2013 Record: 11-2 (7-1 ACC) 

OFFENSE 

Scheme: Offensive coordinator Chad Morris is one of the best in the business, plain and simple. Sure, his offense has struggled against Florida State and South Carolina in recent games and did not look so great against NC State or Boston College last year, but that does not take away from what a great coordinator this guy is. Frankly, the fact Clemson has hung onto him this long is nothing short of a miracle. The guy must interview poorly or something because he should be a head coach by now. But some mid-major or lower tier Big 5 conference team’s loss is Clemson’s gain.

Morris runs a spread and is a disciple of Gus Malzahn so you see similar formations, lots of motion, and breakneck speed ala Malzahn’s teams, but Morris tends to favor the pass more than Malzahn. I’m not sure everyone would agree with me, but I almost see Morris’ offense as a blend of the formations and motions of Malzahn with the passing of a Kevin Sumlin offense. And Morris is not afraid to stretch the field and go for the home run or throw trick plays at a defense. Everything is fair game.

Quarterbacks: Tajh Boyd was prone to mistakes, he often looked tight in big games, but the guy was a great triggerman for Morris’ scheme and he’ll surely be missed. It is really a two-man race to replace him, especially after redshirt freshman Chad Kelly was booted from the team after some, uh, interesting behavior during the spring game when the hot-tempered Kelly reportedly had to be removed by Clemson police after having words with assistant coaches. Clearly, Clemson is better off without a guy like that on the team, but it does hurt their depth chart.

The smart money is on senior Cole Stoudt (413 yards, 79%, 5 TDs) to take over. The understudy for a few years, Stoudt has looked solid in mop-up duty and played well in the spring game. He has the experience and you’d think he would be the man unless he plays poorly. Hot on his heels is five-star true freshman Deshaun Watson, considered by many recruiting services to be the top “dual threat” QB in his cycle. Watson enrolled early and was having a solid spring, but he broke his collarbone and missed the spring game. He’ll be ready for August practices but you have to think the missed time puts him behind the eight ball. That being said, Watson is clearly a talented guy who has much better athleticism than Stoudt so at minimum he might be used as a change of pace guy. Clemson fans and coaches will be holding their breath every time either of these guys takes a hit, though, as Kelly’s dismissal means there are nothing but walk-ons behind these two.

Running Backs: The bad news is that Clemson loses 1,000 yard rusher Roderick McDowell, but the good news is that they return a roster full of 4 star recruits. That being said, it is anyone’s guess who will be the starter at this spot. Morris likes a balanced offense so one or two of these guys need to step up for this offense to execute properly. Don’t be surprised to see a by-committee approach early on.

The candidates are split into veterans and youngsters. Of the veterans, senior D.J. Howard (213 yards, 3.7 average, 2 TDs, 8 receptions) is probably the leader to start. He has a nice blend of physicality and speed and Morris’ preference for runners with versatility could give Howard an edge. Juniors Zac Brooks and C.J. Davidson are right behind Howard. Brooks (246 yds, 5.1 avg, 2 TDs) is the leading returning rusher and has good size and hands. The x-factor could be Davidson (155 yds, 4.6 avg, 4 TDs), a former walk-on who is a track star with great athleticism. He needs to learn the nuances of the position, but if he gets it down he could provide quite the home-run threat.
The youngsters are redshirt freshman Wayne Gallman and true freshman Adam Choice. Gallman has good size and coaches described his running style as dynamic and electric. That being said, he’s still got ground to gain on the veterans, but his talent is undeniable so he’ll at least get some carries. Choice probably won’t crack the lineup this year unless injuries occur, but he was a four star recruit and has a nice size-speed combo. Redshirt freshman Tyshone Dye could be in the mix, but he tore his Achilles in February so he might not see the field until midseason, at earliest.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: There’s no getting around it: even for a school like Clemson that has been recruiting very well recently, you cannot replace a talent like Sammy Watkins. The guy was a physical freak. The loss of Martavis Bryant hurts as well as his size made him a matchup nightmare, but Watkins is really the irreplaceable one. That being said, you have to move on and Clemson does have a roster full of talented guys so they might (*might) be able to replace Watkins’ production by committee.

It will start with Adam Humphries, Mike Williams, and Germone Hopper. Humphries (41 recs, 483 yds, 2 TDs) is not a big play threat, but he runs good routes and has good hands. He can be a security blanket for the QB. Williams (20 recs, 316 yds, 3 TDs) is in the physical freak class, albeit a tier below Watkins. However, he displayed his raw talent last year as a true freshman and he has the size (6’3, 210) and speed to be a home run hitter and create matchup problems. Hopper (22 recs, 147 yds, 2 TDs) has had some attitude problems, but if he gets his head on straight he has the talent to do some damage in this offense. The coaches are hoping junior Charone Peake bounces back from an injury that cost him his season after about a game and a half. He missed spring ball, but he has great talent and really could provide a boost to this unit. The coaching staff is surely hoping any of true freshmen Artavis Scott, Kyrin Priester, Demarre Kitt, and Trevion Thompson can provide some snaps. All were four star recruits and I’d expect at least one or two to see the field.

Clemson utilizes tight ends in the passing game and they have four that can provide snaps. Junior Stanton Seckinger (21 recs, 244 yds, 4 TDs) is a really good receiver, but a really poor blocker. Senior Sam Cooper (6 recs) played as many snaps as Seckinger, but is almost exclusively a blocker. Sophomore Jordan Leggett (12 recs, 176 yds, 2 TDs) is the closest thing Clemson has to a complete tight end, but he struggles with blocking too. Sophomore Jay Jay McCullough (4 recs) was used mostly in late-game situations and will likely remain a backup.

Offensive Line: The Tigers lost some talent here, most notably LT Brandon Thomas, but OL coach Robbie Caldwell is a good one and he has five guys back with starting experience. It isn’t ideal to lose 3 starters, but I think Clemson can cobble a good starting five together. Depth will be the question.

It appears that three spots are locked down. Junior Isaiah Battle, who has 4 career starts, oozes potential and will move from RT to LT to replace Thomas. Many around the program think if he continues to develop he could be a 1st round NFL Draft pick. He needs to work on fundamentals, but he has the toughness and athleticism to succeed. Junior Ryan Norton returns at center after starting all 13 games last year. Norton is undersized at 280 pounds and because of that he can be pushed around, but he is heady and solid in most areas. Junior Joe Gore has only played just over 100 snaps the past two years and was a DE coming out of high school, but he appears to be the starter at RT. Gore has some athleticism and good size, but he needs to refine his fundamentals.

The guard spots are the spots with the most competition. At LG, David Beasley has 19 career starts and would be the unquestioned leader, but he is suspended for the opener against Georgia. That has allowed junior Eric MacLain to make a move. A tight end out of high school, MacLain needs to step up in the opener. In the end, Beasley will likely take over in the 2nd game, but MacLain has the chance to muddy that because Beasley has had issues with motivation in the past. Right guard is much more wide open and is a battle between Kalon Davis and Tyrone Crowder. Davis is a senior with 8 career starts, but he seems out of shape at 340 pounds and is too slow on his feet. He’s moved over from LG to RG to use his size in the run game. Chances are though, that Crowder, a redshirt freshman who was a four star recruit, will be given every chance to win the job.

Depth will be provided mainly by two players, junior tackle Shaq Anthony and sophomore center Jay Guillermo. Anthony is suspended for the opener as well, but afterwards will likely be the top backup at both tackle spots and could push to start at RT. Guillermo has much better size than Norton and will definitely push to start. He can also help at guard if needed.

DEFENSE 

Scheme: Many defensive coordinators promise to attack but don’t really. That isn’t true of Clemson’s coordinator Brent Venables, who was lured from Oklahoma a few years back (some say Bob Stoops was happy to let him go to clear room for brother Mike). Residing almost always in a nickel formation, Venables plays a style that is reminiscent of FSU under Mickey Andrews—ferocious edge rushers, occasional blitzing, and bump and run coverage by the corners. One thing Venables picked up from the Stoops brothers, though, is zone blitzing and you’ll see that a lot too. Sure, Clemson was beaten for some big plays, but they also forced a lot of mistakes and punts. (By the way, if you want to get real in-depth with Venables’ scheme, you can find stuff on his defense at the Clemson blog, Shakin’ the Southland)

Defensive Line: I’ve have heard some rumblings from folks that think Clemson’s defensive line is being overhyped, but I do think they are legitimately one of the 10 best units in all of college football. Sure, Vic Beasley was shut down by Cam Erving but this is still a deep unit that returns literally every player who logged a snap last year. Depth will not be an issue unless injuries occur and there are several future NFL guys on this roster.

At end, Beasley (44 tackles, 23 for loss, 13 sacks, 6 pass breakups, 4 forced fumbles) is the star and really stuffed the stat sheet in 2013. At this point he is much better rushing the passer than stopping the run, but I’ve heard favorable comparisons to former UCLA star Von Miller. Beasley needs to beef up to succeed at the NFL level and he’ll likely get engulfed at times, but he’s still one of the country’s top ends. To stop the run, Clemson has jumbo-sized guys in senior Corey Crawford and sophomore Shaq Lawson, who both go 270 pounds. Crawford (52 tackles, 10.5 for loss, 2.5 sacks) has never quite lived up to his recruiting hype (which was massive), but he is a solid player. Lawson (35 tackles, 10 for loss, 4 sacks) is similar to Crawford, but can provide a bit better push as a pass rusher and, as such, might be the top backup at both end spots. Senior Tavaris Barnes (14 tackles, 2 for loss) and redshirt frosh Dane Rogers provide depth on the strongside while sophomore Martin Aiken and redshirt freshman Ebo Ogundeko will spell Beasley.

Clemson may have the best depth of any team in the country at DT, where they have five guys who can be legit starters. Senior Grady Jarrett (83 tackles, 11 for loss, 2 sacks, 14 QB pressures) is one of the best tackles in the country, period. He isn’t tall, but he has a great motor, is hard to move, and is disruptive. Senior Josh Watson (47 tackles, 2 for loss) is a good athlete who should probably produce more big plays, but at minimum he holds up very well at the point of attack. He actually thought about quitting football during spring, but decided to go one more season and the Tigers are the beneficiaries. Junior D.J. Reader (43 tackles, 5 for loss, 3 sacks) is a space-eater with good athleticism (he pitched on the baseball team at 6-3, 325!). His motor isn’t great, but he has undeniable talent. Senior DeShawn Williams (37 tackles) is a solid, try-hard type who could start for most programs but will never be a star. Junior Carlos Watkins (11 tackles, 1.5 for loss) was in a horrific car accident and missed the season after playing a lot of snaps in the first three games. He has talent, but needs to get back into game shape. Junior Rod Byers and redshirt freshman Scott Pagano provide even more depth.

Linebackers: When Clemson plays pro-style offenses, they use three LBs at once in a conventional 4-3, but typically Venables utilizes a 4-2-5 at all times, which means the Tigers usually rotate four LBs for the entire season. The point of this is to say the graduations of Spencer Shuey and Quandon Christian could hurt. In 2013, only four LBs played more than 100 snaps and two of them just graduated. That being said, this unit has potential, sometimes a dirty word in sports.

The sure thing is MLB Stephone Anthony, a former five star recruit who struggled his first few years but really turned it on last season. Anthony (131 tackles, 13.5 for loss, 4 sacks) is a great sideline-to-sideline linebacker who makes tackles all over the field. He isn’t adept in coverage, but he is a great guy to have on the field on 1st and 2nd down. You have to think the new second starter will be either senior Tony Steward or sophomore Ben Boulware. Steward (37 tackles, 3.5 for loss) is another former five star recruit who has seen his career derailed by injuries. He showed flashes last year of the quickness and fiercesome hitting that made him so ballyhooed. Steward will be given every chance to start, but if he falters, Boulware (25 tackles) is waiting. He was productive in limited playing time last year (just 73 snaps), but was also prone to overpursue or misread plays. If he can tone that down, he’ll push Steward. At minimum, he’ll be a top backup. The fourth ‘backer will likely be junior Kellen Jones, a former Oklahoma transfer who was limited to three games due to an ACL tear in September. He is aggressive and flashed some potential in the spring game.

Secondary: After being a real weak spot in 2012, the pass defense really improved for Clemson last season, ranking 16th in the country. They gave up the occasional big play due to playing a lot of man to man coverage, but this unit was quite good overall. The safety play was spotty, but the corners were solid. However, two of last year’s key CBs are gone so that will likely be the biggest question spot on the defense, although plenty of people return.

At corner, the starters are likely to be senior Garry Peters and redshirt freshman Mackensize Alexander. Peters (28 tackles, 4 pass breakups) did not start last year and has been inconsistent, but coaches like his aggressiveness and think he can hold up in man coverage. Alexander was a top recruit who may have started last year, but was injured and redshirted. He has talent but will obviously have to adjust to the college game. The main guys to watch off the bench are senior Martin Jenkins and sophomore Cordrea Tankersley. Jenkins (26 tackles, 1 int) started four times last year, but is a bit undersized at 5’9, 185. Tankersley (13 tackles) has played both CB and SS, but exited spring ball as a starter at corner. Most think that he’ll end up either a backup at CB or move back to safety.

Clemson plays three safeties and really all of these guys need to improve as safety play was a source of constant frustration. For whatever its worth, the starting spots seem to be set with senior SS Robert Smith, sophomore FS Jayron Kearse, and junior nickel back Travis Blanks. Smith (79 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 int, 4 pass breakups) is good against the run but struggles against the pass. Kearse (55 tackles, 4 ints) had an impressive freshman year, although he also made rookie mistakes. Still, his ceiling is high. Blanks (35 tackles, 2 forced fumbles) had a serious sophomore slump and suffered an ACL injury in the 11th game of the year. He is expected to start, but the Tigers really need him to get back to his freshman form.

The Tigers have plenty of bodies, but there are a lot of changing parts when it comes to depth. Sophomore T.J. Burrell is listed as a SLB, but might move to SS. Sophomore Korrin Wiggins (13 tackles, 2 ints) flashed potential last year, but could bounce between NB and SS. Sophomore Jadar Johnson (12 tackles) played safety last year, but may shift to CB. Sophomore T.J. Green was recruited as a safety, moved to WR last year and did nothing so he moved back to FS and looked solid in the spring. The point here is that Clemson does not lack for athletes on the depth chart, but it is very fluid and there are lots of guys moving around.

Special Teams: The loss of Sammy Watkins will be felt here too, where he was a dynamic return man at times. Kicker Chandler Catanazaro also graduated so there are some holes in the special teams. Punter Bradley Pinion returns, but the junior averaged just 39.4 yards per punt and needs to improve. Junior Ammon Lakip should be the kicker after hitting on 1 of 2 field goals and all five PATs last season. The Tigers have enough athletes that you would assume a decent return man can be found. Adam Humphries has been solid, if unspectacular, returning punts.

Schedule: For a team that lost some program-defining talents, the start isn’t easy as the Tigers open at Georgia and travel to face FSU for their third game (although they have a bye week before that game). The rest of the schedule sets up pretty nicely with most of the games that appear harder on paper (UNC, Louisville, South Carolina) at home. The only tricky road games could be against Boston College, who played Clemson tough last year, and Georgia Tech.

Overall: Clemson is an interesting team because there is a lot to like and lot to be concerned about. You have to like the looks of the depth chart along the defensive line. Unless the unit is decimated by injuries, you’ve got a top five defensive line. There is some nice returning talent at LB, RB, and TE too and Clemson appears to at least have strength in numbers at safety.

In terms of concern, though, you have to look at QB, WR, OL, and CB. Stoudt has played some snaps, but Boyd was clearly a talent and could be hard to replace. I think Stoudt (or Watson) could be fine with time, but that might still mean a 1-2 start to the season. At WR, the Tigers have plenty of guys with stars next to their name in recruiting databases, but Sammy Watkins is a rare talent and will be impossible to replace. The question is who steps up as the guy in crunch time? If one or two guys can make tough catches in tough spots, the WR corps should be fine. The OL lacks depth and if any injuries occur, this group could be toast. Furthermore, the guys at guard, both starters and backups, aren’t necessarily inspiring a ton of confidence. I think Clemson will find two starting corners, but depth is an issue and you have to wonder if they can hold up as much in man coverage as they did last year. The pass rush could help with that, though.

I’ll be honest, I’ve always thought Dabo Swinney was a bit of a doofus what with his rah-rah antics and sometimes off-the-wall postgame interviews, but, at minimum, the guy can recruit and make good hires with assistants. That is evidenced by the fact that the Tigers have gone 22-4 the past two years and won 10 games in 2011 as well so Swinney has the program winning and winning often. And when you look at this roster, it lacks star power in many areas, but it has talent, it has playmakers, and it has depth. As of now, I’d bet Clemson loses to Georgia and FSU and they may lose to South Carolina too, but I also would bet that they’ll win 10 games again, even if that tenth win comes in the bowl game.

Clemson fans likely won’t be happy with another loss to the Gamecocks (or FSU for that matter), but to win 10 games after losing guys like Boyd and Watkins, which would cripple many other programs, would be a testament to the fact that Clemson is out-recruiting anyone in the ACC not named Florida State and is poised to continue to make the ACC a two-headed monster. It just turns out that the two teams may end up being FSU and Clemson and not FSU and UM as everyone expected when the ACC expanded.