Clemson football: Thoughts on day 3 of practice

Clemson football held day three of fall camp on Monday and there was some news that could impact the opening game against Georgia Tech mixed in with the usual camp banter.

If you read this space often enough you know I harp on depth because, well, injuries are going to happen.  Especially along the lines, both offensive and defensive, because when you have 320 pound men in hand to hand battle, things happen.

Such is the case with Tre Williams who apparently was injured in the weight room and required “minor” knee surgery.  Williams readiness for Georgia Tech is in question and that’s not a big deal, but sometimes these things linger.  I’m not a doctor, just observing based on history.  Depth is important, but not at the risk of a longer term situation.

One could imagine that most of the NFL scouts on hand yesterday were there for the defensive line, which could be the best in the country.  There are certainly other areas that have talent, but lets be honest – that defensive line screams NFL.

Joseph Ngata was also in a yellow jersey after getting “banged up”, but will be fine apparently.

It’s really good news that Adam Randall looks great and it gives you hope that he’ll be ready for the first game, though that’s not a big deal to me.  Randall needs to be ready when he’s ready, not dictated by when the first game appears on the calendar.

Clemson football held day three of fall practice on Monday as the Tigers work towards the opener on September 5

Video of a spectacular catch by E.J. Williams made it to social media and it appears that Beaux and Decari Collins have been doing work in the weight room.  All good signs, as we pointed out there is work to do for this group in 2022.

https://twitter.com/ClemsonFB/status/1556781102685007872?s=20&t=vdKsqSh6bBy26X4DRJEnfg

D.J. Uiagalelei had a good practice and moved well with his slimmed down physique, which is really good news.  That said, given what we saw for most of the 2021 season, this is a wait and see situation that I need to see repeated in game conditions and not just against a likely outmanned Georgia Tech team.

As president of the “It wasn’t all D.J.’s fault” Club, even I recognize that there’s a fair amount of last season that he has to own and by all accounts he has done so.  That said, I need to see it repeatedly when the bright lights and pressure are on.

At a loss for words (almost) about the situation at punter though, hearing it has improved recently.  In a weird way these things tend to linger and you’re always waiting for the shank.

There are ebbs and flows to fall practice, much like there is to the recruiting cycle and I try not to get too high or too low on any specific area, but this seems like an area that could hurt the Tigers in 2022 if not fixed, because it appears they will rely on defense and field position in some of the bigger games.  We shall see.

I enter 2022 hopeful, cautiously optimistic and ready for football.