Some of the Clemson football players I name below are going to be obvious, you can probably guess the names, and some of them are players that may interest me more than you and hopefully we can point out a few names to each other to keep and eye on during Monday’s season opener.
So, let’s begin with the obvious and move on from there.
Up first, the center of things – Will Putnam
We’ll get to the quarterback in just a minute or two, but first the guy who gets the ball to the quarterback – the center.
The 6’4, 315 pound Putnam will be the center of attention, pun intended, come Monday night when he rifles his first live game snap back to D.J. Uiagalelei. Putnam is a veteran of over 1,600 career snaps, none of them at center.
The Tigers struggled at the position last season, but the theory is that moving Putnam to center and Walker Parks to guard will get the best five offensive linemen on the field.
After last season, Tiger fans are understandably gun shy about the offensive line, but the praise has been rolling in for this group from teammates, coaches and some corners of the media.
All that’s left is the actual game and while Georgia Tech won’t be the toughest opponent on the season, it will be a first gauge and it all starts when Putnam makes the calls and snaps the ball.
There’s no way around it, Uiagalelei will be under the microscope this and every week this season and perhaps beyond.
Now that we’re clear that the job is Uiagalelei’s and not a shared responsibility, we can also clear up what D.J. needs to do for the Tigers to be successful.
As I’ve pointed out previously, Uiagalelei doesn’t need to lead the NCAA in quarterbacking for the Tigers to win big. Georgia’s elite defense last season meant Stetson Bennett only needed to be around 50th in PFF rating for the Bulldogs to win the National Championship. That said, Uiagalelei was a long way from 50th last season, coming in at 206 overall.
Uiagalelei needs help, both from the line and his receivers and running backs as it was a team effort in the way the Tigers 2021 season went. Injuries were everywhere, and drops were aplenty, but at the end of the day the quarterback gets the glory and blame.
Faster decisions with conviction is something Uiagalelei needs to have mastered and it’s going to be fascinating to see where his confidence level is and how he handles the adversity that’s bound to come at various points throughout the season and let’s not forget five star freshman Cade Klubnik chomping at the bit for an opportunity.
Much has been made of the tight ends since the Jordan Leggett era in Clemson and Kyle Richardson attempted to blunt the criticism by pointing out how often the position was on the field in 2021.
That only made it worse, because it proved they were less receiving threats and more out there to block and be decoys. That has to change for the Tiger offense to approach the success of previous editions.
Allen offers sure hands and a sneaky ability to get open, but I believe Briningstool offers much more upside at the position.
If Briningstool has learned to block more consistently he could see the field more often and call it a hunch, but I predict these two become a bigger piece of the offense than the 31 receptions they combined for in 2021.
I get it. Confidence in the passing game was non-existent, so you relied on the running game to get you through. I would have done the same thing.
But quarterbacks, even ones that are struggling, tend to be better on short passes than long and if the running game isn’t working, why not make opponents defend the short passing game to the tight end as an “extension of the running game”, which could be the most overused phrase in football, but fits in this situation, especially since Allen averaged only 7.4 yards per catch.
At times it seemed like Tony Elliott would go the tight end early and then rarely, if ever, go back.
On a team without a Mike Williams or Tee Higgins, use what you have in the passing game and these are two excellent tight ends.
While most are excited about Trenton Simpson and Barrett Carter, as am I, my thoughts drift to the guys in the middle, Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. and Keith Maguire, if for no other reason than the recent history at the position for Clemson football in Ben Boulware and James Skalski.
While those guys played with an edge that sometimes got them in trouble they were the heart and soul of the defense, so it’ll be interesting to see what develops this year.
Overall, the linebackers are expected to be more athletic and better in coverage than previous groups, so that’s another aspect to check out.
I thought this was Trotters job when the spring began, but I’ve always liked the way Maguire played the game be it special teams or when he saw the field, generally in mop up time.
Will one of these guys step up and be the physical presence of a Skalski or Boulware, or will that fall to someone else?
However this shakes out in the long run, there’s depth and talent at the position.
Now that Dabo has spoken and Aidan Swanson gets the first shot at punter, it’s fair to point out that Swanson has punted 8 times in his career, so he’s basically an unknown
That said, I like this move in order to avoid fatigue from Potter’s right leg doing triple duty. While I have no evidence to prove it, it already seems to me that Potter’s kickoffs get shorter as the game goes on and to put punting on top of field goals, extra points and kicking off was perhaps a bridge too far.
Still Potter was listed first in the OR on the depth chart at punter, so perhaps Swanson is on a trial for the first three games or so.
Punter is a position that’s often overlooked and not talked about much, but it certainly impacts the games, particularly close ones that involve a lot of defense, which I believe is a recipe that Clemson may face through most of 2022.