Clemson Football: What to watch for as spring practice 2019 begins

What should Clemson football fans keep their eyes on as spring practice begins for the Tigers? Here’s a quick look at a few things to watch.

The truth of the matter is that we don’t glean a ton from Clemson football spring practice.

While media personalities and fans alike enjoy playing up storylines and battles from spring ball, the truth is that practice is really for the coaches and players, not the fans and media.

We’re going to hear the coaching staff ‘play up’ guys that aren’t going to play. They are going to ‘play down’ other guys that may have a huge impact on the game. Then there will be some middle ground, as well.

With that being said, there’s still some things we can be watching as spring practice progresses.

• Position battles

Later this week, we’re going to have a breakdown of the top position battles taking place in spring practice for Clemson football. There are a lot of new faces that will be competing for playing time and a chance to start or be a significant part of the depth chart.

Some of those positions include defensive tackle, defensive end, cornerback (opposite-side of AJ Terrell), linebacker, a couple of open spots on the offensive line, tight end, kicker and even wide receiver (with Hunter Renfrow leaving).

• Who will emerge as leaders?

Clemson football didn’t just lose talent off of last year’s team, it lost leadership. There’s no Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, Kendall Joseph, Austin Bryant, Hunter Renfrow, Mitch Hyatt or Justin Falcinelli walking through the door.

For this team to be successful, it has to have leadership. It has to a veteran presence that can keep the team focused and ready to go, even in the grind. I expect to see leadership come from guys like Isaiah Simmons and Tanner Muse defensively, and Gage Cervenka, TreMayne Anchrum and some of those talented skill position players offensively.

• No news= Good news

In the end, the best news of the spring will be health. The Tigers have to remain healthy and, in the case of the spring, no news= good news.

As long as we’re just hearing Dabo Swinney and his staff rave on players or talk about what a certain guy or group needs to do differently or improve upon, that’s a good thing.

The last thing Clemson football fans should want is real news coming out of the program during spring practice because that, most likely, would mean injury.

Stay healthy, have a great spring and work to get better. That’s the goals for the Tigers heading into spring.