Seven Clemson football players who must step up in Trevor Lawrence‘s absence
As the Clemson football team prepares to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this Saturday in South Bend, the Tigers need to see young players step up.
With Trevor Lawrence out at quarterback for at least the next week, the Tigers are looking to reel off yet another win with a true-freshman at quarterback. This time, it will be against the No. 4-ranked Fighting Irish.
As we prepare for the monumental matchup, here are five Clemson football players who must step up with no Trevor Lawrence on the field.
7. Braden Galloway
Davis Allen has been a gamechanger at the tight end position for the Tigers this season and he’s continuing to get better.
Allen is the most complete tight end on the roster and there’s no doubt that he’s going to continue to make a major impact over the course of the rest of this year, but there’s also a role for Braden Galloway and the Tigers need him to shine against Notre Dame.
Galloway is a major threat over the middle as a receiving option and with Notre Dame electing to likely go with some exotic coverage packages to attempt to confuse Uiagalelei, Galloway could be a major part of the receiving effort as he finds holes in the coverage over the middle.
6. Amari Rodgers
Amari Rodgers is one of the veteran leaders on this offense and he has been a reliable receiving option for several years.
His reliability might not be more of a major asset ever than it will be this weekend.
Rodgers can make plays that other receivers on this roster can’t make. He’s going to be relied upon to create separation and make some plays in the passing game.
5. Cade Stewart
Cade Stewart has had a few bad snaps this season and that’s something that just can’t happen this week against Notre Dame.
Stewart is a leader on the offensive line and he has the ability to be a really good center, but it all starts with him having the right mentality and confidence.
Stewart is going to be relied upon to call out blitzes at times and give Uiagalelei good snaps, which will be even more important now than what is usually said.
4. Cornell Powell
Cornell Powell had a career day against Boston College this past weekend reeling in 11 total catches.
It’s clear that Powell and Uiagalelei have some chemistry and we should expect that it will continue this week against Notre Dame.
Powell made all the plays necessary to make this offense better last week and we should expect nothing less this weekend.
3. Jackson Carman
Jackson Carman is the leader of this offensive line and, honestly, the unit hasn’t played up to its potential so far.
The offensive line has struggled to get a push and has whiffed on some assignments in pass-protection. That needs to be cleaned up this weekend against the Fighting Irish.
Carman is a first-round talent and he’s going to be asked to protect Uiagalelei’s blind side.
He’s going to have to pick up on blitzes that the freshman may not see on the surface and we need to see the junior offensive tackle play the best game of his season Saturday.
2. Travis Etienne
There’s no doubt that Travis Etienne has to step up this weekend in South Bend, just as he did against Boston College.
Etienne wasn’t able to get much of a running game going against the Eagles, but he still found a way to make a major impact in the passing game and continuing to wear down BC running the ball. The result was more than 200 all-purpose yards.
Etienne is going to have to have a performance of the same caliber for the Tigers to beat Notre Dame Saturday night.
1. D.J. Uiagalelei
It should come as no surprise that freshman QB D.J. Uiagalelei is the top name on this list.
Uiagalelei had quite the impressive performance this past weekend against Boston College, throwing for more than 300 yards and accounting for three touchdowns.
He’s going to be asked to make some of the same plays- and perhaps even more- against the Fighting Irish this coming Saturday.
Uiagalelei has the talent to lead the Tigers past the Fighting Irish this weekend, but it will all start with a good week of preparation and him remaining confident and poised no matter what kind of adversity comes arises.
Clemson and Notre Dame will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. E.T. live on NBC this Saturday in South Bend.