Hope everyone out there is doing well. Here are a few of the important themes we've picked up as the Tigers prepare for Saturday's visit from Appalachian State:
-- We alluded to this yesterday, but there's definitely a sense of excitement among the offense about the possibility of big plays in the passing game. Appalachian State gambles more with its defensive backs, and that's something the Tigers are looking forward to seeing. Pass protection is going to be difficult, but if the Tigers succeed at that there will be opportunities for one-on-one opportunities deep.
"When they bring more than we have, that means they don't have enough guys to cover our playmakers," said Eric Mac Lain.
It'll be interesting to see if Dabo Swinney puts his second-team offense in as early as he did against Wofford. You never know, but we'd tend to doubt it. As refreshing as it was for him to see the backups do what they did, the truth is they still have a ways to go. And the truth is Appalachian State is a lot better than Wofford.
Jake Fruhmorgen didn't have his best game and seemed to get pushed around some. He's still going to need to get stronger to hold up against some of the better defensive ends the Tigers are going to face this season.
Swinney went in with the plan to insert the second team when Clemson was up two touchdowns, but he had no idea it would come that early. He mainly wanted to get a look at the young linemen. These guys have to get ready as quickly as possible; by Oct. 1, Swinney wants to have dependable depth on the offensive line in particular and the entire team in general.
-- It's been fun seeing Mitch Hyatt react to being in front of the media twice in the past four days. When I spoke with Hyatt's uncle Dan Benish a few weeks ago for the crazy story on how Benish (and ultimately Hyatt) got to Clemson, Benish told me Hyatt is really soft-spoken and probably wouldn't say a whole lot when it came time for him to go before the media jackals. That time came Saturday afternoon, as dictated by Swinney's policy that freshmen get to speak to the media only after they've played a game. Hyatt isn't the most talkative guy in the world, but he's having fun with it and seems like a really down-to-earth kid who has a good sense of humor. He'll get more comfortable chatting with us as this goes along, but so far he's done well.
I asked Mac Lain how long it took for Hyatt to open up to his teammates, and he said it took the entirety of spring practice.
"He jokes and laughs with us all the time, but he's not going to be a cheerleader at a pep rally or anything like that."
-- Clemson's entire offensive line had four mental errors in 80 snaps Saturday. That is an extraordinary number. Mac Lain said he can't remember the last time the number has been that low.
"That's big time," he said. "To have it that low and to be playing as many young guys as we did, that's incredible."
-- cp1275 asked a good question earlier, whether there's clarity in the return game after what the coaches saw against Wofford.
Here was Swinney's answer:
"We've got clarity. Artavis right now is our best option as far as a veteran guy. I think he kind of earned that Saturday. Our punt-return game, Artavis and (Germone) Hopper and Ray-Ray (McCloud) and (Hunter) Renfrow, those are guys that we've really been kind of mixing in back there. I think Renfrow is going to be an excellent returner at some point. Disappointed that he dropped that ball, because he doesn't ever drop the ball. He just had a bad play. Ray-Ray I think can be as good as maybe we've ever had here. But he's got to make the right decision. But the only way you can kind of get better at that is you've got to give guys opportunities.
"So that was the plan going in, and we'll continue to work those guys in. But we have a very good comfort zone with Artavis. And then he'll continue to get opportunities on kick return. We didn't get an opportunity with T.J. (Green) and C.J. (Fuller). C.J. did a great job as our off returner. We wanted to get T.J. an opportunity and he didn't get one. But T.J. and Artavis right now are kind of option 1 and option 2 there, kind of 1 and 1A.
"But punt return, I like the guys. It was a very difficult game as far as the types of punts that we were getting. The guy was trying to hold the ball as long as he could and just kind of throw a grenade out there. And it worked one time. I think it just came down and hit Renfrow, and that's a difficult thing. You've got to really do a good job of trying to force the punt quick. And as the game went on we did a much better job of that. But you have no idea what kind of kick you're going to get. So we had a couple that we were able to handle, and then others you shouldn't field it if it's not worth it. Just make sure you possess the ball is the biggest thing. And that's the lesson to teach Ray-Ray in that regard, because we're going to see that again. We'll probably see some of it this week."
-- Couple of notes from TI intern Tim Hadsell, who sat in on today's interviews with Travis Blanks, Charone Peake and Greg Huegel.
On Blanks: Travis made it very clear that he doesn't suddenly have an appreciation of the game as a result of his time missed from being injured. He goes on to say that "I've never been away from the game" he's been here practicing, taking mental reps, rehabbing learning and getting better every day. TB does acknowledge that his appreciation for the game of football is now different than it was before but it was never lacking. Overall, Travis seemed to be fired up during his interview. His demeanor was of a man on a mission. Very deliberate with his answers, and overall is very excited about what this secondary can accomplish this year.
On Peake: With him moving over to Mike Williams' spot at the 9-man, says G-Hop will most likely take over his former slot position (5). He states that Appalachian State has a more athletic and physical secondary. They're not afraid to go cover zero on you. He is very much looking forward to the cover zero because Wofford didn't do that all game last Saturday. Said he hopes Williams recovers soon but "there will be no drop-off; we're on scholarship too." This boundary receiving position is nothing new to Peake. He has been cross-training ever since he first got on campus with the likes of Martavis Bryant and Deandre Hopkins playing that position before Williams.
On Huegel: Kicked a 51-yard field goal in high school. Wants to break that record while at Clemson. His routine will not differ while in Louisville. "Same grass, same uprights, same kick". He tries to keep his approach simple. Fewer distractions for him.
-- And we'll close with this little behind-the-scenes clip of Christian Wilkins trying to jockey for position with the reporters as McCloud conducts his postgame presser:
-- We alluded to this yesterday, but there's definitely a sense of excitement among the offense about the possibility of big plays in the passing game. Appalachian State gambles more with its defensive backs, and that's something the Tigers are looking forward to seeing. Pass protection is going to be difficult, but if the Tigers succeed at that there will be opportunities for one-on-one opportunities deep.
"When they bring more than we have, that means they don't have enough guys to cover our playmakers," said Eric Mac Lain.
It'll be interesting to see if Dabo Swinney puts his second-team offense in as early as he did against Wofford. You never know, but we'd tend to doubt it. As refreshing as it was for him to see the backups do what they did, the truth is they still have a ways to go. And the truth is Appalachian State is a lot better than Wofford.
Jake Fruhmorgen didn't have his best game and seemed to get pushed around some. He's still going to need to get stronger to hold up against some of the better defensive ends the Tigers are going to face this season.
Swinney went in with the plan to insert the second team when Clemson was up two touchdowns, but he had no idea it would come that early. He mainly wanted to get a look at the young linemen. These guys have to get ready as quickly as possible; by Oct. 1, Swinney wants to have dependable depth on the offensive line in particular and the entire team in general.
-- It's been fun seeing Mitch Hyatt react to being in front of the media twice in the past four days. When I spoke with Hyatt's uncle Dan Benish a few weeks ago for the crazy story on how Benish (and ultimately Hyatt) got to Clemson, Benish told me Hyatt is really soft-spoken and probably wouldn't say a whole lot when it came time for him to go before the media jackals. That time came Saturday afternoon, as dictated by Swinney's policy that freshmen get to speak to the media only after they've played a game. Hyatt isn't the most talkative guy in the world, but he's having fun with it and seems like a really down-to-earth kid who has a good sense of humor. He'll get more comfortable chatting with us as this goes along, but so far he's done well.
I asked Mac Lain how long it took for Hyatt to open up to his teammates, and he said it took the entirety of spring practice.
"He jokes and laughs with us all the time, but he's not going to be a cheerleader at a pep rally or anything like that."
-- Clemson's entire offensive line had four mental errors in 80 snaps Saturday. That is an extraordinary number. Mac Lain said he can't remember the last time the number has been that low.
"That's big time," he said. "To have it that low and to be playing as many young guys as we did, that's incredible."
-- cp1275 asked a good question earlier, whether there's clarity in the return game after what the coaches saw against Wofford.
Here was Swinney's answer:
"We've got clarity. Artavis right now is our best option as far as a veteran guy. I think he kind of earned that Saturday. Our punt-return game, Artavis and (Germone) Hopper and Ray-Ray (McCloud) and (Hunter) Renfrow, those are guys that we've really been kind of mixing in back there. I think Renfrow is going to be an excellent returner at some point. Disappointed that he dropped that ball, because he doesn't ever drop the ball. He just had a bad play. Ray-Ray I think can be as good as maybe we've ever had here. But he's got to make the right decision. But the only way you can kind of get better at that is you've got to give guys opportunities.
"So that was the plan going in, and we'll continue to work those guys in. But we have a very good comfort zone with Artavis. And then he'll continue to get opportunities on kick return. We didn't get an opportunity with T.J. (Green) and C.J. (Fuller). C.J. did a great job as our off returner. We wanted to get T.J. an opportunity and he didn't get one. But T.J. and Artavis right now are kind of option 1 and option 2 there, kind of 1 and 1A.
"But punt return, I like the guys. It was a very difficult game as far as the types of punts that we were getting. The guy was trying to hold the ball as long as he could and just kind of throw a grenade out there. And it worked one time. I think it just came down and hit Renfrow, and that's a difficult thing. You've got to really do a good job of trying to force the punt quick. And as the game went on we did a much better job of that. But you have no idea what kind of kick you're going to get. So we had a couple that we were able to handle, and then others you shouldn't field it if it's not worth it. Just make sure you possess the ball is the biggest thing. And that's the lesson to teach Ray-Ray in that regard, because we're going to see that again. We'll probably see some of it this week."
-- Couple of notes from TI intern Tim Hadsell, who sat in on today's interviews with Travis Blanks, Charone Peake and Greg Huegel.
On Blanks: Travis made it very clear that he doesn't suddenly have an appreciation of the game as a result of his time missed from being injured. He goes on to say that "I've never been away from the game" he's been here practicing, taking mental reps, rehabbing learning and getting better every day. TB does acknowledge that his appreciation for the game of football is now different than it was before but it was never lacking. Overall, Travis seemed to be fired up during his interview. His demeanor was of a man on a mission. Very deliberate with his answers, and overall is very excited about what this secondary can accomplish this year.
On Peake: With him moving over to Mike Williams' spot at the 9-man, says G-Hop will most likely take over his former slot position (5). He states that Appalachian State has a more athletic and physical secondary. They're not afraid to go cover zero on you. He is very much looking forward to the cover zero because Wofford didn't do that all game last Saturday. Said he hopes Williams recovers soon but "there will be no drop-off; we're on scholarship too." This boundary receiving position is nothing new to Peake. He has been cross-training ever since he first got on campus with the likes of Martavis Bryant and Deandre Hopkins playing that position before Williams.
On Huegel: Kicked a 51-yard field goal in high school. Wants to break that record while at Clemson. His routine will not differ while in Louisville. "Same grass, same uprights, same kick". He tries to keep his approach simple. Fewer distractions for him.
-- And we'll close with this little behind-the-scenes clip of Christian Wilkins trying to jockey for position with the reporters as McCloud conducts his postgame presser:
