Five things we learned during the 2020 Clemson football regular season
The 2020 Clemson football regular season has come to an end and the Tigers are once again set up to have a major postseason run.
The Clemson football team locked up a spot in the ACC Championship game with a win over Virginia Tech this past weekend and they’ll now face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in two weeks for a spot in the CFB Playoff.
As we look back on the season that was (as weird as it may have been), here’s a look at five things we learned about this Clemson football team.
5. Clemson is still WRU
With Justyn Ross out for the season, and Frank Ladson Jr. and Joseph Ngata out for the majority of the year, the Tigers were thin at wide receiver in terms of depth.
Many have stopped referring to Clemson football as ‘WRU’ and the Tigers certainly haven’t been as impressive at the position as they once were. That being said, guys like Cornell Powell, Amari Rodgers and E.J. Williams have stepped up immensely.
Tyler Grisham has done an excellent job coaching the position and he’s recruiting at a high level, as well.
The Tigers may have been shorthanded, but they’re still WRU.
4. The offensive line has left much to be desired
The offensive line has just struggled too much this season.
Teams are pounding the ‘A’ gap against the unit as a way to slow down Clemson’s inside zone read game and it has worked for the most part.
Even with the nation’s most prolific play-maker in Travis Etienne, this offensive line has struggled to get a push. There have also been far too many times where Trevor Lawrence is taking an unnecessary shot because of the group not picking up a blitzer or just flat out being beaten by their man.
3. The future is bright
The hope is that Clemson finds a way to get to the CFB Playoff and compete for a National Championship, but you never know what might happen in the end.
That being said, we do know that the future is bright when you talk about the coming years with the Tigers.
We’ve seen star-studded freshmen like D.J. Uiagalelei, E.J. Williams, Bryan Bresee, Myles Murphy and several others show that the program is in good hands moving forward. Even younger players deep on the depth chart like Kane Patterson and LaVonta Bentley have shown flashes.
There’s a reason this program is built to last and much of that has to do with recruiting. Clemson doesn’t rebuild, it reloads and we’ve seen promise from a bunch of different guys as this season has progressed.
2. James Skalski is the heart and soul of the defense
This Tiger defense has been very good this season (for the most part).
They’ve struggled in coverage at times and the front-seven had some difficulties creating pressure early on in the season, but this unit has definitely grown under the leadership of Brent Venables.
That being said, the heart and soul of this unit is James Skalski.
When he’s on the field, the run defense is on a different level. The Tigers play with more confidence. It just seems like they’re in the backfield more. When he’s not, the linebackers look lost.
Skalski changes the way this defense performs and there’s no other way around it.
1. The talent to win it all is there, but they’re going to walk a fine line
Overall, the main takeaway from the regular season is that the Tigers have the talent to win it all.
There’s nothing stopping them except themselves from winning an ACC Championship and competing in the CFB Playoff.
That being said, they’re walking a fine line.
There’s not a lot of depth on this team. There’s not a lot of experience or guys you feel comfortable about performing in the moment on the biggest stages. Not yet, at least. That’s why they absolutely have to stay healthy and execute when they’re given chances.
Anything less, and we could be looking at a CFB Playoff without Clemson in participation.