Five Clemson football players to watch vs. Miami Hurricanes
The Clemson football team will take on the Miami Hurricanes in a game that will have the eyes of the nation on it Saturday evening.
The Tigers, who are ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation heading into the matchup, will be looking to prove that they are again the cream of the crop in terms of CFB Playoff contenders this season while Miami- who enters the game ranked No. 7- will be looking to join that group of elite contenders with an upset victory Saturday night.
As we begin to break this game down, here’s a look at five Clemson football players who need to have big games against the Hurricanes.
5. Andrew Booth Jr.
We all know that Derion Kendrick is going to be counted upon heavily in coverage during this game, but that means the opposite-side corner’s job is only going to be amplified.
Andrew Booth Jr. played the best game of his career this past weekend against Virginia and he’s going to be the one who gets the first crack at holding down that spot against the vaunted Miami passing offense.
Can Booth continue to win his battles and show that talent he possesses in coverage or will it be a situation where he comes up short under the bright lights? The Tigers need the sophomore to have a big game and it will be interesting to see if he can deliver.
4. Cade Stewart
You can really talk about the offensive line as a whole in this one needing to step up.
The offensive line has struggled at times this season and the unit didn’t get much of a push against Virginia last week. That being said, it’s going to all start with Cade Stewart.
Stewart had a couple of high snaps last week and he needs to focus on getting a better snap to Lawrence and finding a way to call out blitzes and become a leader on that offensive line. Look for Stewart to step up big-time in this one.
3. Joseph Ngata
Clemson needs Joseph Ngata to get healthy and play at a high level and he simply hasn’t been able to do that yet.
Through three games, Ngata has three catches for 48 yards and has been very limited due to an abdominal injury. While it’s still unsure if he’ll play at all against Miami, the overarching belief is that he’s getting better and approaching 100 percent.
That would be a major win for this Clemson football team.
Ngata has the talent to be a dominant wide receiver but it’s going to take him getting healthy and, hopefully, this will be the week we see him have a break out performance.
2. Mike Jones Jr.
Brent Venables said it best on Monday when he said that Miami has two of the best tight ends he’s ever faced.
With two legitimate receiving options who can make things difficult on defenders in matchups, the Tigers are going to rely heavily on Mike Jones Jr. to be a versatile playmaker on Saturday.
It’s not about Jones Jr. becoming Isaiah Simmons, but it is about him playing at a high level in defending both the run and the pass while knowing that he’s going to have some difficult match-ups in the ball game.
1. Trevor Lawrence & Travis Etienne
Leading off our list are the two obvious answers, but it’s two guys that you simply can’t win without.
Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne have to keep doing what they do best for the Tigers to win this game.
Lawrence has been efficient, accurate and poised. Etienne has been explosive.
Those things have to continue Saturday night against the best defense that they’ll have faced to this point in the season.
Look for both guys to have big games for Clemson football Saturday night and that will ultimately seal the fate for the Tigers.