Clemson Football Fall Camp Practice Report, Day One

Clemson football fall camp began today and there are some interesting notes coming out of day one. Check out our practice report on today’s practice.

Clemson football fall camp began today and head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media before practice to discuss some opening questions and then began the first practice session of the season around 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday. The Tigers practiced for close to three hours in shorts, but there were many notes that came out of the first day of Clemson football fall camp. First, I want to preface these notes with the fact that I was not there in person. I hope to attend a few practices before Clemson football fall camp concludes, but I did watch the Dabo Swinney press conference live and I was able to speak with three different media members briefly who were there. These are where these notes are compiled from.

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The first and biggest piece of information coming out of the first day of Clemson football fall camp, is that freshman quarterback Tucker Israel has broken his foot. One reporter said that he was walking around in a boot before practice ended and that proved to be the reason. He will, according to Coach Swinney, miss at least four weeks of the season, if not more and this almost all but decides his redshirting fate. Most likely, Israel needed a year of redshirting anyway, but now he will be able to rehab his foot and then get ready for next season to contend with Kelly Bryant next season as the second-string guy.

Speaking of Kelly Bryant, he was said to have looked the part and was light years better from where he was at the end of spring practice. Now, you have to take this with a grain of salt because we haven’t even gotten to full pads yet, but he looked more comfortable passing the ball in drills and even completed a deep fade rout as the practice went on. The backup spot is Nick Schuessler’s to lose, but don’t think Bryant won’t go down without a fight.

Everything I have thought and said about Deon Cain is coming to fruition here early on. Like I said, this is just the first day of camp, but Cain was said to be extremely competitive and even made a one-handed grab in the endzone for a touchdown. In my opinion, this kid is the real deal and you will continue to hear more and more about him going forward.

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One of my favorite stories from the first day of Clemson football fall camp came from David Hood’s observations, whom I did not speak with, but had some really good notes on the day. He said that Mackenzie Alexander got beat early on in practice and that sparked his fire. He was very hard to get off the field and came back the very next series and completely locked down the wide receiver. He was so locked into the receiver that Nick Schuessler did not even attempt to throw the ball, but rather tossed it back to Quarterbacks Coach Brandon Streeter while shaking his head.

The freshmen were all said to be impressive, but some needing some coaching along the way. Ray-Ray McCloud was said to be moving “too fast” at the beginning part of practice, but Charone Peake came up to him and told him to slow down and encouraged him and he was good to go. Shaq Lawson also spent some time with freshman defensive lineman Austin Bryant showing him some techniques and where to go, while also taking time to encourage some of the others, including Christian Wilkins and Clelin Ferrell.

Overall, the first day of practice was a success for the Tigers and we will have more tidbits of information coming out of Fall Camp in tomorrow’s Coffee, Clemson Style and throughout August as Fall Camp progresses. We wish quarterback Tucker Israel a speedy recovery and hope he will be back out there soon.

Next: Clemson Football Analysis: Who is the Tigers' leading receiver?

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