We spoke with several players and coaches tonight following Clemson's first scrimmage of the spring.
Some quick notes from a couple of players.
*** Zac Brooks told us he was very impressed with C.J. Fuller's work today. Dabo Swinney later echoed that sentiment, stating that his outlook on Fuller remains very favorable.
"He's just going to be a really good player. I'm telling you ...," said Swinney.
Brooks says he's at roughly 90% full speed and expects to be at 100% by the start of summer voluntary workouts. Session I, by the way, begins shortly before the Memorial Day holiday.
I asked Brooks which player on the offensive line has really caught his eye this spring and without hesitation he simply said, "Isaiah Battle."
*** Rising junior linebacker Ben Boulware said both Korie Rogers and Kendall Joseph have been impressive early.
Boulware again said it's his position the Tigers will be "just as good on defense" in 2015. He reiterated he expects "no drop-off." I reminded him to say no drop-off is quite a bold statement and that there was a reason why numerous players were second-team a year ago. So I asked him again if he felt that strongly there would be no drop-off.
His response: "100%. Absolutely. People think we were the No. 1 defense in the country because of those guys (who have now departed), but as a team we had 11 more guys behind them who weren't as good because they were backups, but ... they were pretty darn close."
Boulware also raved about "soft-spoken" MIKE backer B.J. Goodson.
"His communication has gotten a lot better. He has been great from day one. He just had to sit behind some great players. He's been more vocal. He wasn't a talkative person his first three years here. He's realized he has to be more vocal. He's now all across the field screaming at everybody. That's what we need at MIKE linebacker.
"He's been the strongest person on our team since he's been here. At 245 pounds, he's pretty fast. He gets faster everyday."
I asked Boulware to name one person on offense who has really caught his eye this spring. He just tilted his head upward and looked over my shoulder toward the direction of Nick Schuessler.
"He's been balling out. He's played better than any quarterback I've seen this spring," said Boulware. "He's making great throws, great reads. He has stepped up."
I asked which one of the underclassmen offensive front men has caught his eye this spring. He said rather quickly, "Taylor Hearn."
"That's a mean dude. That's a mean son of a gun. He's a mean, country boy. Farm boy. That's what you need on the offensive line. He's a mean dude. He doesn't take crap from anybody."
*** Dabo again spoke very favorably about the progress of Schuessler, as well as tight end Jordan Leggett who is without a doubt in the midst of his best spring to date.
"Leggett had a great day again today. A great day."
The problem at tight end is getting enough bodies to pull reps currently. And I asked about the status of Jay Jay McCullough as well. McCullough's situation remains status quo and under review. (He is not currently practicing with the team).
"We're a mess right now at tight end," said Swinney. "We've got all kinds of tight end depth but just two guys practicing ... Jordan and Cannon Smith. We need Jordan to continue to step up. This is a big year for Jordan.
"Right now we're missing a bunch of guys. Milan Richard got hurt the other day. He rolled an ankle, so he's probably out for a couple of weeks. He'll probably miss the spring game. About a week after the spring game he should be doing everything from a training standpoint. So we've got those two guys, but everything else is a mash unit at tight end."
It's still relatively early though it appears the table is set for another year of a by-committee approach at running back, though Dabo did again point out Wayne Gallman for his good works and continued progress.
"I really like our guys at running back. You noticed all of them today. Gallman ripped off a 25-yard touchdown run. He's at a whole other level right now. We felt like he was going to be a good player. He's faster, stronger, way more confident, 212 pounds."
Dabo said veteran wideout Charone Peake looks like his old self ... perhaps even better.
"Man, he's been spectacular. He's looked as good this spring as I've ever seen him. He had a great, great practice on Monday."
Walk-on punter Andy Teasdall received some praise from Dabo tonight.
"He hasn't missed a beat since the bowl game. Encouraged with him. Really, really having a good spring. He's been incredibly consistent."
Snaps were again an issue today.
In the overall, though, Dabo does remain very high on Clemson's freshman class of offensive linemen.
"It's going to be a really good group of offensive linemen. There's no doubt about that. It's just going to continue to get better. Competition will continue to improve. They love it. They want to. They come to work everyday. I'm telling you ... we are going to have a really, really good offensive line when it's all said and done."
The team will work out again once more this week - Friday afternoon.
We hope everyone is having a great week!
Some quick notes from a couple of players.
*** Zac Brooks told us he was very impressed with C.J. Fuller's work today. Dabo Swinney later echoed that sentiment, stating that his outlook on Fuller remains very favorable.
"He's just going to be a really good player. I'm telling you ...," said Swinney.
Brooks says he's at roughly 90% full speed and expects to be at 100% by the start of summer voluntary workouts. Session I, by the way, begins shortly before the Memorial Day holiday.
I asked Brooks which player on the offensive line has really caught his eye this spring and without hesitation he simply said, "Isaiah Battle."
*** Rising junior linebacker Ben Boulware said both Korie Rogers and Kendall Joseph have been impressive early.
Boulware again said it's his position the Tigers will be "just as good on defense" in 2015. He reiterated he expects "no drop-off." I reminded him to say no drop-off is quite a bold statement and that there was a reason why numerous players were second-team a year ago. So I asked him again if he felt that strongly there would be no drop-off.
His response: "100%. Absolutely. People think we were the No. 1 defense in the country because of those guys (who have now departed), but as a team we had 11 more guys behind them who weren't as good because they were backups, but ... they were pretty darn close."
Boulware also raved about "soft-spoken" MIKE backer B.J. Goodson.
"His communication has gotten a lot better. He has been great from day one. He just had to sit behind some great players. He's been more vocal. He wasn't a talkative person his first three years here. He's realized he has to be more vocal. He's now all across the field screaming at everybody. That's what we need at MIKE linebacker.
"He's been the strongest person on our team since he's been here. At 245 pounds, he's pretty fast. He gets faster everyday."
I asked Boulware to name one person on offense who has really caught his eye this spring. He just tilted his head upward and looked over my shoulder toward the direction of Nick Schuessler.
"He's been balling out. He's played better than any quarterback I've seen this spring," said Boulware. "He's making great throws, great reads. He has stepped up."
I asked which one of the underclassmen offensive front men has caught his eye this spring. He said rather quickly, "Taylor Hearn."
"That's a mean dude. That's a mean son of a gun. He's a mean, country boy. Farm boy. That's what you need on the offensive line. He's a mean dude. He doesn't take crap from anybody."
*** Dabo again spoke very favorably about the progress of Schuessler, as well as tight end Jordan Leggett who is without a doubt in the midst of his best spring to date.
"Leggett had a great day again today. A great day."
The problem at tight end is getting enough bodies to pull reps currently. And I asked about the status of Jay Jay McCullough as well. McCullough's situation remains status quo and under review. (He is not currently practicing with the team).
"We're a mess right now at tight end," said Swinney. "We've got all kinds of tight end depth but just two guys practicing ... Jordan and Cannon Smith. We need Jordan to continue to step up. This is a big year for Jordan.
"Right now we're missing a bunch of guys. Milan Richard got hurt the other day. He rolled an ankle, so he's probably out for a couple of weeks. He'll probably miss the spring game. About a week after the spring game he should be doing everything from a training standpoint. So we've got those two guys, but everything else is a mash unit at tight end."
It's still relatively early though it appears the table is set for another year of a by-committee approach at running back, though Dabo did again point out Wayne Gallman for his good works and continued progress.
"I really like our guys at running back. You noticed all of them today. Gallman ripped off a 25-yard touchdown run. He's at a whole other level right now. We felt like he was going to be a good player. He's faster, stronger, way more confident, 212 pounds."
Dabo said veteran wideout Charone Peake looks like his old self ... perhaps even better.
"Man, he's been spectacular. He's looked as good this spring as I've ever seen him. He had a great, great practice on Monday."
Walk-on punter Andy Teasdall received some praise from Dabo tonight.
"He hasn't missed a beat since the bowl game. Encouraged with him. Really, really having a good spring. He's been incredibly consistent."
Snaps were again an issue today.
In the overall, though, Dabo does remain very high on Clemson's freshman class of offensive linemen.
"It's going to be a really good group of offensive linemen. There's no doubt about that. It's just going to continue to get better. Competition will continue to improve. They love it. They want to. They come to work everyday. I'm telling you ... we are going to have a really, really good offensive line when it's all said and done."
The team will work out again once more this week - Friday afternoon.
We hope everyone is having a great week!
