Clemson Football: First spring practice shows elite size of freshmen

The Clemson football team had its first spring practice session Wednesday afternoon. Here’s a look at some early returns from the practice.

The 2020 Clemson football team certainly looked like a group ready to contend for a National Championship Wednesday afternoon during the first practice of the spring.

Of course, the Tigers were just in shorts and helmets, but that shouldn’t detract from the fact that the guys on this team look like NFL players.

Here’s a look at some of the early returns from the first practice of the spring for Clemson football.

• There were several injuries

We’ll start off by saying that several Tigers were in limited contact. Blake Vinson, Tayquon Johnson, Andrew Booth Jr. and Bryan Bresee were all in yellow jerseys, according to Tigernet’s David Hood.

Nolan Turner was also in a sling and Nyles Pinckney was still nursing that ankle injury, as well.

• Tayquon Johnson moving to OL is the right move

Tayquon Johnson, previously a defensive lineman, was taking snaps on the offensive line Wednesday afternoon and was working with the second-team.

The amount of depth and talent on that defensive line is crazy and Johnson will have a better opportunity to earn playing time and make an impact on the team on the offensive line. He has the size, strength and athleticism to play the position effectively and I believe this will be a great move for him in the long run.

• DJ Uiagalelei impressed bystanders

From all accounts, DJ Uiagalelei looks every bit the part of an NFL hopeful quarterback. He’s 6-foot-5 and more the 240 pounds, but moves swiftly and quickly.

Uiagalelei is one of those guys to marvel in terms of size and athleticism and it will be interesting to see how he performs when the pads come on and he’s live.

• The freshmen are blending in

In many cases, you can tell who a freshman is by the way their going through the drills. That certainly didn’t seem like the case Wednesday afternoon.

EJ Williams, Myles Murphy, Paul Tchio and Bryan Bresee (limited contact) all received rave reviews and it’s clear that the Clemson football coaching staff hit on several key prospects during the recruiting cycle.