Last night I had the opportunity to talk Clemson football with JP Priester of AllClemson.com on the Sluggo Podcast.
We touched on every position on the field, including punter and kicker, plus recruiting and there were several takeaways for me after having a discussion with someone with more access than I, not to mention more football acumen.
JP also has something sorely lacking in many today, myself included at times, that is the ability to not blow small vignettes into something bigger than they are.
In this instance, I’m specifically talking about the punting game and how a bad day, which happened to be the first day of camp, was blown into something that may cost Clemson games.
It could in fact cost Clemson games, but to make that grand conclusion after one single practice and limited reps for the guys that are really battling for the job seems like overkill.
I’m one that believes that different people absorb information in different ways and if one of the ways for you is verbal, I encourage you to give the podcast a listen.
One of the items we discussed was how many believe that the quarterback situation is similar to Trevor and Kelly Bryant in 2018 and we both disagreed with that assessment. Cade Klubnik is and will be an excellent college quarterback, but to compare him to Trevor Lawrence at this stage is unfair.
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There’s an expectation that the linebackers will be “different” this season, but that’s not a bad thing, necessarily. This group should be faster and more athletic than recent linebacking groups and that’s a notion that we both agree with also.
In the defensive backfield JP mentioned a true freshman that not many have talked about, Sherrod Covil, and how he’s further along than the coaches expected at this point.
One name that’s got some attention lately got more attention last night and that name is Antonio Williams. Williams is someone to keep an eye on as camp continues because often these young guys flash for a day or two and then disappear as we get closer to the season. It’s too be determined if Williams has the staying power as a true freshman.
We also discussed the tight end position and how Davis Allen is the Steady Eddie of the group, the upside presented by Jake Briningstool is obvious.
Most of our recruiting discussion centered around the running back conundrum and trying to understand what the thought process of the staff is there. It’s a tough one to understand from this side.
We even closed it up with a discussion of the ACCs future and what they could do to stay relevant, which is a tough question to answer with the way college football is trending.