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CLEMSON GAMEDAY FOOTBALL NUGGETS
By: Larry Williams & Paul Strelow
It's been a weekly routine of late for Clemson fans to wonder when they're going to get everyone back healthy.
Not happening this week. If anything, the injury trend is getting worse.
We're told the Tigers' secondary was banged up even more this week, as at least one player on the back end was injured and will not play against Boston College.
This on top of Sheridan Jones and Malcolm Greene already being out. When the Tigers wrapped up practice Thursday, there was significant uncertainty about whether they'd be available.
Clemson's secondary of course faces a major test tonight in the form of Zay Flowers, an elite playmaker who'd be a tough cover even under normal circumstances.
Andrew Mukuba is back, albeit with a large brace on one of his arms, after sitting out most of last week's game serving his penance for targeting. Toriano Pride and Nate Wiggins showed they were up to the challenge against the Wolfpack, but Flowers' dynamic skill set makes him a bigger threat to exploit significant cushion if that's the route Wes Goodwin chooses to take again today.
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Clemson true freshman DB Sherrod Covil has logged 79 snaps from scrimmage this season. (Zach Hanby - Zachphoto.net)
Our bet is you'll see Sherrod Covil out there a lot tonight. Entering the season, the coaches planned to pick their spots with Covil and Pride while easing them in gradually.
But this run of injuries has thrown them right into the grease.
They say a secondary's best friend is a dominant defensive line. The guys on the back end need some help from their buddies up front tonight.
-- LARRY WILLIAMS
Boston College rotates quite a bit on the defensive line, so it'll be interesting to see whether Clemson's trend continues of relying on its starting five offensive linemen to go the distance.
Dabo Swinney entered the season saying the number of linemen the staff trusted to play in competitive situations was in the double digits. And at that time, Bryn Tucker was considered the sixth-best guy.
Tucker was thrust into duty last week after Walker Parks went down in the second half against N.C. State.
Non-football-related & off topics forum
Tucker looked like he still needs quite a bit of work in playing six snaps.
Here's a look at the total snap counts of the backup linemen through five games:
Bryn Tucker 41
Mitchell Mayes 37
Tristan Leigh 27
Trent Howard 26
Collin Sadler 23
Ryan Linthicum 14
Dietrick Pennington 12
John Williams 5
One of the byproducts of leaving no doubt against overmatched competition is getting your backups more experience.
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Four-star true freshman wideout Adam Randall could draw more snaps tonight. (Zach Hanby - Zachphoto.net)
Last year that wasn't practical in ACC play, as the Wake Forest game was the only conference game the Tigers won handily. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
*** That's definitely worth monitoring, especially as the cumulative toll of the season starts to wear on that starting five.
With several of the dings and bruises, it feels like only a matter of time before one of the reserves is called into lengthy service over the course of a single game.
In the two instances where Clemson needed an immediate stopgap, the coaches went with a veteran -- Mayes against Wake Forest, then Tucker last weekend.
Given more prep time ... or against an opponent where there might be considered more wiggle room ... it would be interesting to see if they explored some of their younger, less experienced alternatives. -- PAUL STRELOW
*** For that matter, we've found the opposite approach compelling in how Clemson has handled its defensive tackles to date.
Bryan Bresee's absence last week no doubt reconfigured the planned snap distribution.
But last week saw the Tigers incorporate six different defensive tackles into their rotation, including an uncharacteristic 10 relevant snaps for Etinosa Reuben.
De'Monte Capehart drew one snap after netting five the week before, presumably seeing his usage squeezed as well by the return of Tre Williams -- who logged eight snaps.
Clemson's starters tend to net around 50 apiece in big games, and Ruke Orhorhoro was consistently in the 30s as next-man up before replacing Bresee. Payton Page tallied 17 and 19 the past two games, respectively.
So there's a clear plan for Nick Eason to play just about all his guys -- sans redshirting freshman Caden Story -- along the way, as opposed to the more common four-man rotation.
Boston College hasn't established much run-game prowess this season. So let's see if that affords a few more snaps for specific players today. -- PAUL STRELOW
*** Plenty of cautionary tales for Swinney to share with his team this week as he tried to bring the Tigers back down to earth.
No, Boston College doesn't look like a good team.
But it tends to get your attention -- and probably got the players' attention -- when you're reminded just how close Clemson came to losing against Boston College last year in Death Valley.
Two times in the final five minutes, the Eagles had a chance for the go-ahead touchdown.
After a field goal put Clemson up 19-13, Boston College drove 52 yards in nine plays to Clemson's 23-yard line before a turnover on downs.
After a three-and-out by the Tigers, BC drove deep into Clemson territory and had a first down at Clemson's 11.
Yes, they were that close to bringing true misery to the Tigers during a down season.
Only a bobbled snap by quarterback Dennis Grosel, and a recovery by K.J. Henry with 49 seconds on the clock, saved the Tigers' lives that night.
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Veteran defensive end K.J. Henry is having his best season by far. (Zach Hanby - Zachphoto.net)
A defense that didn't have near the coverage issues of this year's back end allowed a multitude of big passing plays -- eight pass plays of 14 yards or more.
Grosel's 311 yards passing that night were the highest passing total for the Eagles all season.
Clemson was quite fortunate to win that night. And Clemson was quite fortunate to win in 2020 when it overcame an 18-point deficit at home to beat the Eagles.
The last 120 minutes of football against the Eagles should be a reminder that Clemson should be fully focused for its next 60 against them. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
DEALS on officially-licensed CLEMSON gear at THE TIGER FAN SHOP HERE!
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CLEMSON GAMEDAY FOOTBALL NUGGETS
By: Larry Williams & Paul Strelow
It's been a weekly routine of late for Clemson fans to wonder when they're going to get everyone back healthy.
Not happening this week. If anything, the injury trend is getting worse.
We're told the Tigers' secondary was banged up even more this week, as at least one player on the back end was injured and will not play against Boston College.
This on top of Sheridan Jones and Malcolm Greene already being out. When the Tigers wrapped up practice Thursday, there was significant uncertainty about whether they'd be available.
Clemson's secondary of course faces a major test tonight in the form of Zay Flowers, an elite playmaker who'd be a tough cover even under normal circumstances.
Andrew Mukuba is back, albeit with a large brace on one of his arms, after sitting out most of last week's game serving his penance for targeting. Toriano Pride and Nate Wiggins showed they were up to the challenge against the Wolfpack, but Flowers' dynamic skill set makes him a bigger threat to exploit significant cushion if that's the route Wes Goodwin chooses to take again today.

Clemson true freshman DB Sherrod Covil has logged 79 snaps from scrimmage this season. (Zach Hanby - Zachphoto.net)
Our bet is you'll see Sherrod Covil out there a lot tonight. Entering the season, the coaches planned to pick their spots with Covil and Pride while easing them in gradually.
But this run of injuries has thrown them right into the grease.
They say a secondary's best friend is a dominant defensive line. The guys on the back end need some help from their buddies up front tonight.
-- LARRY WILLIAMS
Boston College rotates quite a bit on the defensive line, so it'll be interesting to see whether Clemson's trend continues of relying on its starting five offensive linemen to go the distance.
Dabo Swinney entered the season saying the number of linemen the staff trusted to play in competitive situations was in the double digits. And at that time, Bryn Tucker was considered the sixth-best guy.
Tucker was thrust into duty last week after Walker Parks went down in the second half against N.C. State.
Non-football-related & off topics forum
Tucker looked like he still needs quite a bit of work in playing six snaps.
Here's a look at the total snap counts of the backup linemen through five games:
Bryn Tucker 41
Mitchell Mayes 37
Tristan Leigh 27
Trent Howard 26
Collin Sadler 23
Ryan Linthicum 14
Dietrick Pennington 12
John Williams 5
One of the byproducts of leaving no doubt against overmatched competition is getting your backups more experience.

Four-star true freshman wideout Adam Randall could draw more snaps tonight. (Zach Hanby - Zachphoto.net)
Last year that wasn't practical in ACC play, as the Wake Forest game was the only conference game the Tigers won handily. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
*** That's definitely worth monitoring, especially as the cumulative toll of the season starts to wear on that starting five.
With several of the dings and bruises, it feels like only a matter of time before one of the reserves is called into lengthy service over the course of a single game.
In the two instances where Clemson needed an immediate stopgap, the coaches went with a veteran -- Mayes against Wake Forest, then Tucker last weekend.
Given more prep time ... or against an opponent where there might be considered more wiggle room ... it would be interesting to see if they explored some of their younger, less experienced alternatives. -- PAUL STRELOW
*** For that matter, we've found the opposite approach compelling in how Clemson has handled its defensive tackles to date.
Bryan Bresee's absence last week no doubt reconfigured the planned snap distribution.
But last week saw the Tigers incorporate six different defensive tackles into their rotation, including an uncharacteristic 10 relevant snaps for Etinosa Reuben.
De'Monte Capehart drew one snap after netting five the week before, presumably seeing his usage squeezed as well by the return of Tre Williams -- who logged eight snaps.
Clemson's starters tend to net around 50 apiece in big games, and Ruke Orhorhoro was consistently in the 30s as next-man up before replacing Bresee. Payton Page tallied 17 and 19 the past two games, respectively.
So there's a clear plan for Nick Eason to play just about all his guys -- sans redshirting freshman Caden Story -- along the way, as opposed to the more common four-man rotation.
Boston College hasn't established much run-game prowess this season. So let's see if that affords a few more snaps for specific players today. -- PAUL STRELOW
*** Plenty of cautionary tales for Swinney to share with his team this week as he tried to bring the Tigers back down to earth.
No, Boston College doesn't look like a good team.
But it tends to get your attention -- and probably got the players' attention -- when you're reminded just how close Clemson came to losing against Boston College last year in Death Valley.
Two times in the final five minutes, the Eagles had a chance for the go-ahead touchdown.
After a field goal put Clemson up 19-13, Boston College drove 52 yards in nine plays to Clemson's 23-yard line before a turnover on downs.
After a three-and-out by the Tigers, BC drove deep into Clemson territory and had a first down at Clemson's 11.
Yes, they were that close to bringing true misery to the Tigers during a down season.
Only a bobbled snap by quarterback Dennis Grosel, and a recovery by K.J. Henry with 49 seconds on the clock, saved the Tigers' lives that night.

Veteran defensive end K.J. Henry is having his best season by far. (Zach Hanby - Zachphoto.net)
A defense that didn't have near the coverage issues of this year's back end allowed a multitude of big passing plays -- eight pass plays of 14 yards or more.
Grosel's 311 yards passing that night were the highest passing total for the Eagles all season.
Clemson was quite fortunate to win that night. And Clemson was quite fortunate to win in 2020 when it overcame an 18-point deficit at home to beat the Eagles.
The last 120 minutes of football against the Eagles should be a reminder that Clemson should be fully focused for its next 60 against them. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
DEALS on officially-licensed CLEMSON gear at THE TIGER FAN SHOP HERE!