Clemson Football: Thomas Austin still has a big job to do

Clemson Football turned over a big chunk of the staff after the 2021 season. Thomas Austin stepped up from a support role to be the offensive line coach.

Austin had a big job ahead of him. First he needed to find a center. He accomplished that by moving Will Putnam from guard.

Then he had to find a new starter at guard. He ultimately made another position change. He slid Walker Parks over to guard and tagged freshman Blake Miller to play tackle.

Perhaps the biggest job he had was to get the 2nd string ready in case they were called upon. Injuries were probably the biggest hurdle in 2021.

Looking back at the 2022 season, Putnam did the job at center. It’s hard to know if he is just more natural at center or if his experience made everything click for him.

Miller didn’t have the benefit of that experience, but under the circumstances, he did a good job.

This was the second year in a row that Clemson started a true freshman on the offensive line. That’s not common.

That’s also a statement about the depth of talent in the group. The Class of 2020, which will be entering its fourth season in the program, had four 4-star line recruits. Three of them were Top 150 in the nation.

Only one of them, Parks, was a regular starter in 2022. Mitchell Mayes stepped in for Marcus Tate when he was injured late in the season. One of the four has transferred.

To say that group’s production on the field has been disappointing is an understatement.

Since Clemson hasn’t found success with the minimal attempts to lure offensive line transfers, Austin has no choice but to rely on younger players to fill the two-deep.

The line recruits from the 2021 class could provide that depth. Outside of Tate, who did start in both 2021 & 2022, there is Tristan Leigh, Ryan Linthicum, and Dietrick Pennington. Leigh and Linthicum needed to develop physically, and Pennington was injured, impeding his physical conditioning. 2023 will be the year we find out if they have what it takes to be contributors. None of them saw more than 50 snaps in 2022.

If they don’t have what it takes, Austin has to rely on the young talent that he has recruited. Collin Sadler appears to be in a good position to be one of the first players off the bench in 2023. If Parks moves back to tackle, he could compete for a starting guard spot. Austin also has three freshmen coming in. It remains to be seen if any of them will be ready right away.

What is it that is needed? What is it that Austin appears to be focusing on in recruiting that was missing from the last few classes recruited by Robbie Caldwell?

Clemson Football needs the offensive line to develop a mean streak, which has been missing lately

They call offensive linemen ‘big nasties’. Those guys are big. I’m not sure if they are nasty.

Being technically sound and understanding positioning is important, but having the right mindset is also important for offensive linemen.

One thing we heard about Miller when he was made a starter was that he had a mean streak when he played. We have also heard this about a couple of the recruits arriving in Austin’s 2023 class.

I wrote recently that I think Clemson hasn’t displayed the toughness on the field in the last two seasons that they did during their run of College Football Playoff appearances the six seasons prior. If there is one place a team has to be ‘nasty’, it’s in the trenches.

For the offensive line to take the next step, Austin needs to do more than just teach them technique and strategy. He needs to make them into ‘big nasties’.

I’m not sure if that is something that can be taught. We will see this season if he has the clay he needs to make that happen. A few recruiting classes might be the only way to make it happen.