The Clemson football team will kickoff the 2021 season with a massive matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs this Saturday in Bank of America Stadium.
The Tigers enter the game as a slight favorite, but there are plenty of experts and analysts who are picking the Bulldogs to win.
Clemson comes into this season holding a streak of six-straight CFB Playoff appearances and the Tigers are looking to right the wrong that we saw this past January when they were embarrassed by Ohio State in the playoff semifinals.
As we look towards this game, here are some areas that Clemson may end up surprising Georgia.
Three surprises that UGA will never see coming against Clemson football
1. The tight end position comes to life
The tight end position was next-to-dead during the 2020 season.
The position as a collective group last season had 50 receptions for 664 yards and seven touchdowns. That’s comparable to what Travis Etienne (49 rec, 588 yards, 2 receiving TDs) had by himself.
When looking at the production that the Tigers had out of the backfield in the passing game last season, many Clemson football fans might be looking at the running backs and wonder who will be threat to catch the ball.
While we will still see plenty of that with Will Shipley and Lyn-J Dixon, what if I told you the answer to replacing Etienne’s production in the passing game is through the tight end position?
No one has been talking about the tight ends this offseason, but Tony Elliott– the play-caller– is the position coach there and he likes what he sees from the group. Davis Allen, Braden Galloway and Jaelyn Lay are all going to get opportunities to get on the field and make an impact as receivers, not just blockers.
Look for them to activate the tight end and open up the middle of the field in a big way throughout the season and this will all begin in Charlotte against the Bulldogs.