Monday August Camp Insider
By: Paul Strelow & Larry Williams
We need to talk.
You've got August camp questions, we've got answers or opinions.
In a twist of this popular recruiting, mail call, feature, Tigerillustrated.com digs into team topics broached by our subscribers.
Off we go ...
stigers91: Who looks like the most under-the-radar guy currently that you think becomes the biggest surprise this year?
PAUL: My standard disclaimer is that it's hard for any Clemson player to fly under the radar anymore.
Most were four-star recruits. The program's successes mean the next players in line inherit grand expectations. Combine that with the detailed scrutiny under which a team of its caliber falls, and one of the consequences is everyone is projected to be great -- which just isn't realistic.
Now that I've gotten that diatribe out of the way ...
To date, we've given the label of Player Most Likely to Exceed Relatively Lower Expectations to linebacker Keith Maguire.
Highly-regarded sophomore offensive lineman Marcus Tate. (Tigerillustrated.com)
I don't think Maguire starts. But he has sorta been stuffed behind LaVonta Bentley and Jeremiah Trotter in the linebacker conversation alongside Trenton Simpson, and Maguire is having as good a camp as any of them. His combination of leadership presence and refined know-how is going to earn him a contributing role on this team, in my estimation.
My sentimental pick for biggest surprise, though, is sophomore offensive lineman Marcus Tate.
I think plenty of folks wrote Tate off last year amid his rookie struggles.
Absolutely, there were times Tate looked bad. When he looked bad, he looked really bad because his mistakes were missed assignments. His confidence got shot, which compounded the problem.
A closer examination, in my opinion, would show that Tate had plenty of favorable snaps where you could see the promise and athletic potential.
I wrote this when Thomas Austin was promoted to offensive line coach, but I carry conviction that the change in coaching style stood to greatly benefit Tate specifically as well as others in general.
My belief remains Tate is going to be a really good player for Clemson, and sooner than later. Pressure and the spotlight have shifted to other offensive line positions, he's got a new lease and could turn out to be the best left tackle on campus in time.
yemassee: How does the look of this team (from what you have seen with your own eyes) compare to past teams?
LARRY: The top-end talent on this team is really highlighted when you try to rank the roster from 1 to 25, as we do every summer.
Shifting to the past week-plus of August camp, I've remarked to various folks how this looks like an elite team just walking off the bus. Meaning the stature of these guys at just about every position cuts such a sleek, imposing figure.
Look: Last year's team did not play like a great or even good team for much of the year. Everyone can agree on that.
But that fact was highly correlated with a sadistic run of injuries that left almost 30 scholarship players unavailable by the end of the year. Add in a quarterback who wasn't really ready for the moment and had his confidence greatly shaken by the opening 60 minutes of football, and it was kind of a perfect storm.
A full roster of healthy players, to me, looks comparable to past Clemson teams and past playoff teams elsewhere. That of course starts with a defense that could be in the ballpark of last year's Georgia defense, which is the best I've ever seen.
Jeff Scott said a few days ago that his most loaded receiving corps at Clemson felt like some of the great Kentucky Wildcats basketball groups because he could roll out backups who were just as talented as the starters.
We have talked a lot about it being almost unfair to think Cade Klubnik is capable of immediately being as great as Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson. Point being: Those two guys were truly generational, and that's a rare thing even if you do continue reeling in 5-star quarterbacks.
Maybe we haven't talked enough about a past collection of receivers being generational in their own right. Because being able to roll out Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, Hunter Renfrow and Amari Rodgers onto the same field is a wee bit unfair -- and a wee bit extraordinary.
OK we're kind of rambling here, and of course the recent continuation of the injury thing has to be at least a little concerning. But on the whole, when this roster is healthy it looks like it compares favorably with some of the teams of the past.
And we must emphasize that we're specifically answering your question about "the look of this team," not the assorted variables that go into the fruition of a championship-level team (elite quarterback/receiver play, being fortunate with injuries, etc.)
Clemson's coaches expect Will Putnam to have his best season to date. (Tigerillustrated.com)
Legit Cyborg: I'm excited about the OL talent and size we've been bringing in.
Can you give me a way-too-early 2023 starting O-line? Any chance Harris Sewell is ready to step in at center with Austin's coaching style? What position do you feel Collin Sadler settles into? A lot of mass to work with in the coming years!
PAUL: I mean, we don't even know what the 2022 starting line will look like for the Georgia Tech opener, much less what it will finish come the postseason.
It's fascinating that Clemson could well begin this season with different starters at all five offensive line positions.
So we need to see how the dust settles with placement in the short term before predicting the long term with any shred of substance.
With where events are going, I feel pretty solid in forecasting Blake Miller as the right tackle and Walker Parks as the right guard.
My bet would then go to Tate as the left tackle.
The biggest question by far will be whether Will Putnam returns for his final season of eligibility. The gap between Putnam and the next option is huge, in this observer's eyes.
Putnam reclassified last fall to where he's a redshirt junior this season instead of a senior.
Our intel is that a decision has not been made yet on whether he will come back. Plenty depends on how this season goes.
But Putnam has given himself the option, and let's just say our understanding is he now has less reason not to return.
Furthermore, after quietly being hindered by an ankle last season, Putnam is finally healthy and mobile. So tack that onto the rejuvenation of a new position at which he has excelled, and there's more reason Putnam might want to return, too. He will graduate after this season, but there's appeal to pursuing his Master's degree.
Putting Putnam in the middle of the Parks/Tate/Miller core paints an appealing picture, no?
The missing piece in this puzzle is left guard, and as purely a guess, here's going Collin Sadler. If Clemson's searching for its best five at the moment, I think he's got the best shot at being No. 6 by season's end.
atiger81: May not be a fair question since there were so many injuries last year, but does DJ Uiagalelei appear to have strong chemistry with any of the receivers other than his high school teammate Beaux Collins? Also, does it appear that Klubnik is developing good chemistry with any of the receivers?
LARRY: I think less about chemistry and more cohesion in their responsibilities.
One of the significant schematic tweaks this offseason has been doing more to allow the offense to adjust post-snap to whatever looks the defense is showing.
This is a counter to the previous pre-snap cat-and-mouse game of the defense showing one look, the offense audibling to something else based on that look, followed by the defense changing its look to something else. That familiar sequence was a factor in the pace of play slowing so much last year.
The idea now is to adjust routes based on what the quarterback and receivers see after the snap. It sounds great in theory, because then you can take advantage of the open spaces the defense gives you.
But it also places more pressure on the quarterback and his targets to make the right choices in a compressed span of time. And on top of that there's the enhanced tempo that Brandon Streeter is committed to moving forward.
So in a sense, where before the decision-making process was heavily on the play-caller (pre-snap diagnosis producing a play call from the coach), now it falls more on the pieces on the field (post-snap diagnosis producing the destination of the route and the ball).
Chemistry and camaraderie are important, and I don't think those qualities are lacking among these quarterbacks and receivers.
But the far more interesting and important part to me is all the pieces cohering post-snap -- particularly after so many guys on offense were missing during the spring, and with Beaux Collins, E.J. Williams and Troy Stellato having suffered injuries recently.
Taylor1111: I know it’s a little early but what are you thoughts on which players may be in for a position change?
PAUL: Position change? Who has time for a position change anymore. Players are exponentially more likely to simply transfer out and play the position they want than be around long enough to explore another position -- unless there's the unlikely scenario where they foresee long-term NFL benefit.
I'm not sure we see many more instances where a player is recruited to one position, it doesn't work out, and he then switches sides of the ball or makes a profound change. Those guys will be gone before their careers reach that juncture, in more cases than not.
Position changes are going the way of fullbacks and academic casualties: extinction.
Although I'd love to see the in-game thread reaction if on the first play of the season, coordinator Brandon Streeter put his fingerprints on the revised offense by going I-formation with middle-aged kamikaze Luke Price as the lead blocker.
The Price-to-fullback campaign starts here.
Former four-star recruit Jeremiah Trotter is set to see a multiple of his 2021 snap total (59) this fall. (Tigerillustrated.com)
dramake: The double A-gap blitz package was a staple of the Brent Venables defense, and with Simpson inside after displaying premier pass-rushing skills for two years, that doesn't seem like it will be changing. Which of the starter-quality inside linebackers do you think is best suited for executing that package alongside Simpson?
LARRY: Not to sound like a homer here, but all of them.
There's just so much to offer when your inside guys are Simpson, Maguire, Bentley and Trotter.
Quickly on Simpson: As you correctly noted, he has a great knack for pass rushing. The image that pops into my head first is the Wake Forest game last year, when he was on top of Sam Hartman before he even had a chance to react.
This is not about speed alone. With the stunting and twisting games that Venables drew up so deftly, it also demands the proper spacing and timing to marry it with the movements of the defensive linemen.
This came to mind recently when one of those linebackers mentioned how much he's been working with the interior defensive linemen.
It looks great when your second-level guy has a wide-open path to the quarterback, but so much work and calibration goes into producing that delicious sight.
We've been on record as loving what we've seen out of Trotter's instincts and situational awareness. We think Bentley is now seasoned enough to be a valuable weapon in that area. And just this past Saturday, Maguire spent a lot of time in the backfield and really stood out to folks who were there.
James Skalski and Baylon Spector were so good at these specific blitz packages, and that came from vast institutional knowledge of the system. That's not easy to replace, but it's also plenty realistic to think the guys who followed them are adept enough and talented enough to be feared weapons screaming through the A gap.
40% OFF Clemson Nike shoes at The Tiger Fan Shop now! Direct link to the SALE HERE!
By: Paul Strelow & Larry Williams
We need to talk.
You've got August camp questions, we've got answers or opinions.
In a twist of this popular recruiting, mail call, feature, Tigerillustrated.com digs into team topics broached by our subscribers.
Off we go ...
stigers91: Who looks like the most under-the-radar guy currently that you think becomes the biggest surprise this year?
PAUL: My standard disclaimer is that it's hard for any Clemson player to fly under the radar anymore.
Most were four-star recruits. The program's successes mean the next players in line inherit grand expectations. Combine that with the detailed scrutiny under which a team of its caliber falls, and one of the consequences is everyone is projected to be great -- which just isn't realistic.
Now that I've gotten that diatribe out of the way ...
To date, we've given the label of Player Most Likely to Exceed Relatively Lower Expectations to linebacker Keith Maguire.
Highly-regarded sophomore offensive lineman Marcus Tate. (Tigerillustrated.com)
I don't think Maguire starts. But he has sorta been stuffed behind LaVonta Bentley and Jeremiah Trotter in the linebacker conversation alongside Trenton Simpson, and Maguire is having as good a camp as any of them. His combination of leadership presence and refined know-how is going to earn him a contributing role on this team, in my estimation.
My sentimental pick for biggest surprise, though, is sophomore offensive lineman Marcus Tate.
I think plenty of folks wrote Tate off last year amid his rookie struggles.
Absolutely, there were times Tate looked bad. When he looked bad, he looked really bad because his mistakes were missed assignments. His confidence got shot, which compounded the problem.
A closer examination, in my opinion, would show that Tate had plenty of favorable snaps where you could see the promise and athletic potential.
I wrote this when Thomas Austin was promoted to offensive line coach, but I carry conviction that the change in coaching style stood to greatly benefit Tate specifically as well as others in general.
My belief remains Tate is going to be a really good player for Clemson, and sooner than later. Pressure and the spotlight have shifted to other offensive line positions, he's got a new lease and could turn out to be the best left tackle on campus in time.
yemassee: How does the look of this team (from what you have seen with your own eyes) compare to past teams?
LARRY: The top-end talent on this team is really highlighted when you try to rank the roster from 1 to 25, as we do every summer.
Shifting to the past week-plus of August camp, I've remarked to various folks how this looks like an elite team just walking off the bus. Meaning the stature of these guys at just about every position cuts such a sleek, imposing figure.
Look: Last year's team did not play like a great or even good team for much of the year. Everyone can agree on that.
But that fact was highly correlated with a sadistic run of injuries that left almost 30 scholarship players unavailable by the end of the year. Add in a quarterback who wasn't really ready for the moment and had his confidence greatly shaken by the opening 60 minutes of football, and it was kind of a perfect storm.
A full roster of healthy players, to me, looks comparable to past Clemson teams and past playoff teams elsewhere. That of course starts with a defense that could be in the ballpark of last year's Georgia defense, which is the best I've ever seen.
Jeff Scott said a few days ago that his most loaded receiving corps at Clemson felt like some of the great Kentucky Wildcats basketball groups because he could roll out backups who were just as talented as the starters.
We have talked a lot about it being almost unfair to think Cade Klubnik is capable of immediately being as great as Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson. Point being: Those two guys were truly generational, and that's a rare thing even if you do continue reeling in 5-star quarterbacks.
Maybe we haven't talked enough about a past collection of receivers being generational in their own right. Because being able to roll out Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, Hunter Renfrow and Amari Rodgers onto the same field is a wee bit unfair -- and a wee bit extraordinary.
OK we're kind of rambling here, and of course the recent continuation of the injury thing has to be at least a little concerning. But on the whole, when this roster is healthy it looks like it compares favorably with some of the teams of the past.
And we must emphasize that we're specifically answering your question about "the look of this team," not the assorted variables that go into the fruition of a championship-level team (elite quarterback/receiver play, being fortunate with injuries, etc.)
Clemson's coaches expect Will Putnam to have his best season to date. (Tigerillustrated.com)
Legit Cyborg: I'm excited about the OL talent and size we've been bringing in.
Can you give me a way-too-early 2023 starting O-line? Any chance Harris Sewell is ready to step in at center with Austin's coaching style? What position do you feel Collin Sadler settles into? A lot of mass to work with in the coming years!
PAUL: I mean, we don't even know what the 2022 starting line will look like for the Georgia Tech opener, much less what it will finish come the postseason.
It's fascinating that Clemson could well begin this season with different starters at all five offensive line positions.
So we need to see how the dust settles with placement in the short term before predicting the long term with any shred of substance.
With where events are going, I feel pretty solid in forecasting Blake Miller as the right tackle and Walker Parks as the right guard.
My bet would then go to Tate as the left tackle.
The biggest question by far will be whether Will Putnam returns for his final season of eligibility. The gap between Putnam and the next option is huge, in this observer's eyes.
Putnam reclassified last fall to where he's a redshirt junior this season instead of a senior.
Our intel is that a decision has not been made yet on whether he will come back. Plenty depends on how this season goes.
But Putnam has given himself the option, and let's just say our understanding is he now has less reason not to return.
Furthermore, after quietly being hindered by an ankle last season, Putnam is finally healthy and mobile. So tack that onto the rejuvenation of a new position at which he has excelled, and there's more reason Putnam might want to return, too. He will graduate after this season, but there's appeal to pursuing his Master's degree.
Putting Putnam in the middle of the Parks/Tate/Miller core paints an appealing picture, no?
The missing piece in this puzzle is left guard, and as purely a guess, here's going Collin Sadler. If Clemson's searching for its best five at the moment, I think he's got the best shot at being No. 6 by season's end.
atiger81: May not be a fair question since there were so many injuries last year, but does DJ Uiagalelei appear to have strong chemistry with any of the receivers other than his high school teammate Beaux Collins? Also, does it appear that Klubnik is developing good chemistry with any of the receivers?
LARRY: I think less about chemistry and more cohesion in their responsibilities.
One of the significant schematic tweaks this offseason has been doing more to allow the offense to adjust post-snap to whatever looks the defense is showing.
This is a counter to the previous pre-snap cat-and-mouse game of the defense showing one look, the offense audibling to something else based on that look, followed by the defense changing its look to something else. That familiar sequence was a factor in the pace of play slowing so much last year.
The idea now is to adjust routes based on what the quarterback and receivers see after the snap. It sounds great in theory, because then you can take advantage of the open spaces the defense gives you.
But it also places more pressure on the quarterback and his targets to make the right choices in a compressed span of time. And on top of that there's the enhanced tempo that Brandon Streeter is committed to moving forward.
So in a sense, where before the decision-making process was heavily on the play-caller (pre-snap diagnosis producing a play call from the coach), now it falls more on the pieces on the field (post-snap diagnosis producing the destination of the route and the ball).
Chemistry and camaraderie are important, and I don't think those qualities are lacking among these quarterbacks and receivers.
But the far more interesting and important part to me is all the pieces cohering post-snap -- particularly after so many guys on offense were missing during the spring, and with Beaux Collins, E.J. Williams and Troy Stellato having suffered injuries recently.
Taylor1111: I know it’s a little early but what are you thoughts on which players may be in for a position change?
PAUL: Position change? Who has time for a position change anymore. Players are exponentially more likely to simply transfer out and play the position they want than be around long enough to explore another position -- unless there's the unlikely scenario where they foresee long-term NFL benefit.
I'm not sure we see many more instances where a player is recruited to one position, it doesn't work out, and he then switches sides of the ball or makes a profound change. Those guys will be gone before their careers reach that juncture, in more cases than not.
Position changes are going the way of fullbacks and academic casualties: extinction.
Although I'd love to see the in-game thread reaction if on the first play of the season, coordinator Brandon Streeter put his fingerprints on the revised offense by going I-formation with middle-aged kamikaze Luke Price as the lead blocker.
The Price-to-fullback campaign starts here.
Former four-star recruit Jeremiah Trotter is set to see a multiple of his 2021 snap total (59) this fall. (Tigerillustrated.com)
dramake: The double A-gap blitz package was a staple of the Brent Venables defense, and with Simpson inside after displaying premier pass-rushing skills for two years, that doesn't seem like it will be changing. Which of the starter-quality inside linebackers do you think is best suited for executing that package alongside Simpson?
LARRY: Not to sound like a homer here, but all of them.
There's just so much to offer when your inside guys are Simpson, Maguire, Bentley and Trotter.
Quickly on Simpson: As you correctly noted, he has a great knack for pass rushing. The image that pops into my head first is the Wake Forest game last year, when he was on top of Sam Hartman before he even had a chance to react.
This is not about speed alone. With the stunting and twisting games that Venables drew up so deftly, it also demands the proper spacing and timing to marry it with the movements of the defensive linemen.
This came to mind recently when one of those linebackers mentioned how much he's been working with the interior defensive linemen.
It looks great when your second-level guy has a wide-open path to the quarterback, but so much work and calibration goes into producing that delicious sight.
We've been on record as loving what we've seen out of Trotter's instincts and situational awareness. We think Bentley is now seasoned enough to be a valuable weapon in that area. And just this past Saturday, Maguire spent a lot of time in the backfield and really stood out to folks who were there.
James Skalski and Baylon Spector were so good at these specific blitz packages, and that came from vast institutional knowledge of the system. That's not easy to replace, but it's also plenty realistic to think the guys who followed them are adept enough and talented enough to be feared weapons screaming through the A gap.
40% OFF Clemson Nike shoes at The Tiger Fan Shop now! Direct link to the SALE HERE!
