Clemson Football is getting a lot of respect before the 2023 season, but with the improvement by the Florida State Seminoles in 2022, this is the first season when you can honestly say Clemson is flying a little beneath the radar going into a season.
There are a few players on Clemson’s roster that are similar. People who follow the team know they are good players, but they aren’t considered the best of the best for the Tigers.
Some of those players could be positioned to make a big jump this season, and maybe even put themselves into the conversation for early entry into the NFL Draft.
Here are three players who most people are sleeping on that could be big contributors for the Tigers in 2023.
Marcus Tate
It feels strange to say Tate will be a junior this season. It seems like yesterday that he showed out in the spring game as an early enrollee.
Since then, he stepped into the lineup at left guard as a freshman. The whole line had its issues in 2021 for certain, but when we take a step back and consider Tate was so inexperienced, he did a decent job. He was doing well last season as well before the injury bug bit hard and caused him to miss the latter part of the season.
Maybe part of the reason it feels like he is under the radar is because he missed the stretch run of the 2022 season.
One of the reasons observers tend to be positive about the prospects for Clemson’s offensive line this season is that they are returning four starters. Three of them – Will Putnam, Walker Parks, and Tate – have two seasons of experience starting.
While the right side of the line is stable, the one place where there is change is at left tackle, on the side where Tate holds down guard. It looks like Tristan Leigh will get the start at LT, and there has been talk that Colin Sadler could be an option there as well. In the case that neither works out, the stop-gap measure we are hearing is that Tate could kick out the left tackle.
Additionally, the word from camp is that Garrett Riley’s offense involves a little more pulling by the guards than in previous years.
To sum up, if things work well at left tackle, the line should be good, and Tate will be a big part of that. If he gets to pull, he gets a chance to use his athleticism to shine. If Leigh or Sadler don’t cut it, Tate gets a chance to show his versatility by moving to tackle. There are a lot of good opportunities for Tate in 2023.
Jaedyn Lukus
With the return of Sheridan Jones, a cornerback group that felt awfully young in 2022 comes back in 2023 with a fair amount of experience. Nate Wiggins will handle the other side, and the first two off the bench will be Toriano Pride and Lukus.
Pride and Lukus were important recruits in the Class of 2022. Not only were they going to be counted on for depth last season, but the thought was that one of them would likely need to step into the starting lineup in 2023.
While Lukus was the higher-rated prospect coming out of high school, he dealt with injuries last year. His spring was cut short and he had to fight back with rehab to be ready to play during the season.
As a result, Pride had more time to prepare and saw the field a lot more in 2022 than Lukus. Lukus fought through the injury to play as much as possible in 2022. He also decided to get some field time in spring ball before having surgery to fix his shoulder so it could be healed before the 2023 fall camp started.
Jones’s return means that neither Pride nor Lukus will need to be ready to start at the beginning of 2023, but Jones had his fair share of injury-bad luck in 2022 too. Pride will likely remain the first guy off the bench, but if Lukus is finally healthy, he will have an opportunity to show out for the first time in a Tiger uniform.
Payton Page
When Page showed up for his first Big Weigh-In before the 2021 season, he checked in at 334 pounds. He is naturally a big man, but it was clear he wasn’t ready for prime time. It didn’t keep him off the field, though, and he exceeded the four-game limit for redshirting.
When Page showed up for the 2022 Big Weigh-In, he was down to 317 pounds. In 2023, he was at 308 pounds. That’s a drop of 26 pounds since he was a freshman. He has put in quite a bit of work since he arrived on campus.
He looks sleeker and stronger while still looking like the huge man that he is. He would have been a strong candidate to step into the starting line-up had either Tyler Davis or Ruke Orhorhoro not returned this season.
He might not start, but he is likely to come off the bench quickly. He also might be a key guy when the Tigers get multiple with a three-man defensive line. While Davis or Orhorhoro could hold the middle, none of the defensive tackles scream nose guard like Page. With injuries already impacting Tre Williams, Demonte Capehart, and Vic Burley, Page looks to be a key component of the defense in 2023.