Clemson football offense has no leader & that’s a problem

The Clemson football offense has been anything but stellar over the course of the 2021 season to this point.

Through six games, the unit has yet to score more than 19 points in regulation against an FBS opponent and we’ve talked extensively about the issues that plague this group from questionable play-calling to bad QB play to poor WR performances to a shaky offensive line.

But, perhaps, one of the biggest issues facing this Clemson football offense is the fact that, truthfully, there is no leadership within the player group. There is no player willing to be vocal and garner the respect of his teammates.

Unfortunately, the coaches confirmed this during their weekly press conferences this week.

Tony Elliott told the media on Monday that there were not as many vocal leaders on the offense as they have had in the past and then Dabo Swinney had this quote during his press conference on Tuesday when asked about what players were stepping up as leaders on the offense:

"“If you’re on the field, you’re a leader,” Swinney said. “Everybody’s a leader.”"

If everyone is a leader, then the Clemson football offense has no leaders

There are times in the past when Swinney would talk about players who were stepping up as leaders and doing an excellent job of leading the team.

It would be a no-brainer if he was to be asked about the leadership on the defensive side of the ball that he would talk about James Skalski, Nolan Turner and even a few others who are being vocal and leading the way.

The problem– one of the problems, anyway– with the offense, however, is that no one is sticking out.

There is no respected leader who can go to the rest of the team as a player and say “hey guys, that didn’t work, but we’re going to get the next one.”

There is no Deshaun Watson to tell the group “Let’s go be legendary” right before a big drive. And, that’s a problem.

There’s something to be said about having that ‘Alpha’ who everyone respects and who is basically an extension of the coaching staff on the field. There’s something to be said about having that guy who can be an encouragement to others when something goes wrong or having that guy who can correct his teammate on the sideline or even on the field in the midst of play.

And, unfortunately, Clemson doesn’t have that on offense.

It’s not something that will be discussed a ton and we’re not saying that it’s the main issue, but a lot of problems would be resolved right now if you had a leadership figure like Watson, Trevor Lawrence or Eric Mac Lain heading up this attack from a player’s standpoint.

You can’t fake leadership and, right now, the Tigers simply don’t have any on the offensive side of the ball.