Clemson football announces orange and white rosters for spring game

Clemson Football announced their Orange and White Spring Game rosters on Thursday, and we got the first look at the matchups we will see on Saturday.

Coach Mike Reed will take the lead for the Orange team, and new passing coordinator/tight ends coach Kyle Richardson will head the White team. The available players were divided into separate units and a coin flip determined who got to chose a unit first. Reed won the flip, and selected his defense. Richardson then had his first choice of the offense.

Both squads are depleted this spring due to injuries and illnesses.

Incumbent starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will lead the Orange offense. He will have Phil Mafah in the backfield, the only scholarship running back available for the game. Will Shipley and Kobe Pace are sitting the spring out due to injury. Walk-on Kevin McNeal will back up Mafah, while Billy Wiles will get reps behind DJU.

Early-enrollee freshman Cade Klubnik will lead the White offense onto the field. He will have walk-on running backs Domonique Thomas and Tristan Rigby running the ball. Hunter Helms will rotate at quarterback with Klubnik.

The wide receiver group has been decimated by injuries, but each side will have a couple scholarship players available. Joseph Ngata and Troy Stellato will feature for the Orange. Beaux Collins is also listed on the Orange roster, and he is not officially listed as out, but he was nursing a minor injury late in the spring, so we may not know if he will take the field until gametime. Taking on the Orange wide receivers will be the defensive backfield of Fred Davis, Andrew Mukuba & Sherrod Covil for the White. The White squad will line up Dacari Collins & Brannon Spector at wide receiver against the Orange backfield of Nate Wiggins, Toriano Pride, Jalyn Phillips and RJ Mickens. The White will also have Jake Briningstool, the only scholarship tight end available for the game.

One place we will get to see several scholarship players is on the line. The Orange will have Will Putnam, Marcus Tate, Tristan Leigh, Trent Howard, John Williams and Colin Sadler. Interesting note: Putnam is still listed as a guard, even though he has been praised for his work at center this spring. The White will send KJ Henry, Justin Mascoll, Greg Williams and Zaire Patterson at defensive end and Tyler Davis, Dermonte Capehart and Etinosa Reuban at defensive tackle.

Redshirt freshman Ryan Linthicum will have a chance to show what he can do at center for the White team, with Jordan McFadden, Bryn Tucker, Mitchell Mayes and Blake Miller on either side of him. Another interesting note: Mason Trotter is listed on the White roster, and he is not marked as out. It had been presumed he was not playing. Coach Swinney has indicated he would be out for the season for undisclosed reasons. The Orange squad will feature Myles Murphy, Xavier Thomas, Kevin Swint and Cade Denhoff at defensive end. Ruk Orhorhoro & Payton Page will anchor the middle of the line at tackle.

The linebacker group has a good crop of players available too. Barrett Carter, Keith Maguire & Lavonta Bentley will start for the Orange and Trenton Simpson, Jeremiah Trotter & Sergio Allen will line-up for the White.

The Spring Game begins at 1PM on April 9th. Admission is free. Power Rangers Christian Wilkins and Austin Bryant will serve as honorary coaches alongside Reed and Richardson. The game will have a bit of a different fell than usual since the stadium is under renovation. With the construction in the East Endzone, the teams will not be able to have their traditional entrance of running the hill. Howard’s Rock has been temporarily relocated to the Reeves Football Complex.