Clemson Football: One Quick Thing – I’m starting to believe in these Tigers

I remember being nervous about Clemson Football going into the 2017 season. A lot of talent had left for the NFL. Most people expected there to be a step back for the program, but it ended up being a tiny step. The 2017 team finished as the 1-seed in the College Football Playoff.

After that offseason, there didn’t seem to be any reason to doubt the Tigers in the preseason, regardless of the situation. Even when the season fell short of the ultimate goal, there was optimism they could get back.

Even when Trevor Lawrence left for the NFL, there was this 5-star kid who threw for the third-most yards in a single game ever for Clemson, on the road in front of Touchdown Jesus no less. The fact that it was in a losing effort didn’t seem to matter at the time.

There was no reason to doubt the 2021 squad in the preseason. Then the train came off the rails.

I’m not saying the program came off the rails. It’s still one of the premier college football programs in America. Coach Dabo Swinney is still one of the premier college football coaches in America. That isn’t what I meant.

What came off the rails was my lack of preseason doubt. Up until the 2022 preseason, I was confident the team would be one of the best in college football.

In some ways, I wish DJ Uiagalelei had never played those two games in relief of Lawrence when he tested positive for COVID-19. At least then I might have braced myself better for the fact that DJU might not be as good as Lawrence, but that darn South Bend game and the 5-star rating had me convinced.

Though I wanted to believe the team could bounce back, I was much more reserved with my enthusiasm in 2022. Much of what I read from insiders and observers backed up that perspective. Things looked better, but not the way they used to look.

A second three-loss season should have me back in reserved mode, and I am. There’s this one thing.

Everything I read this season about the team as they proceed through fall camp has a different feel to it. I subscribe to a couple of the subscription services that cover the Tigers as well as many of the other groups that discuss what they see, and the underlying tone of the reporting is different than it was in 2022.

I won’t reveal what is being said behind a paywall, but I will reveal that it is challenging my instinct to be reserved, and it has little to do with what they are writing, and more about how they are writing it.

I’m sensing more confidence from Clemson Football insiders on this season’s squad

When those insiders spoke last year about what they saw in practice and what they were hearing, there was always a caution in their writing. To paraphrase and generalize, it was “This looks better so far, but we aren’t saying the problem is fixed.”

That hesitation hasn’t shown up much this preseason. It doesn’t feel like they want to reel the fans back in after they give the team a compliment. They don’t seem to preface things nearly as much.

To be clear, they aren’t saying “The problem is fixed”. They simply aren’t mentioning the problem at all. They don’t feel that need to bring us back to Earth. Maybe they feel fans are sufficiently grounded at this point, or maybe it simply isn’t in their thinking based on what they are seeing and hearing.

Maybe it is more in their subconscious than something they think about regularly, but there is a definite difference on fall camp observations this year.

‘Reserved me’ says I probably shouldn’t read too much into that, but my resolve is weakening.