Clemson Football: Five things we learned about the Tigers vs Charleston Southern
By John Chancey
Freshmen are going to be contributors
Since the Tigers were able to build a comfortable lead in the third quarter Saturday, they had the opportunity to play their second-string and reserves. Per this source on X, they got more players in than ever before.
On Saturday, @ClemsonFB set a school record by playing 117 players. A total of 41 of those 117 players made their debut in a #Clemson uniform.
— Brian Hennessy (@Brian_ClemsonAC) September 10, 2023
It’s difficult for young players to fully develop unless they see game snaps, so it is satisfying to know that many players got practical experience.
Some of the freshmen didn’t need to wait until the fourth quarter to see the field, and they are starting to really flash.
Peter Woods is what we expected: strong, fast, and disruptive. He is going to be an anchor for this line in 2024 and 2025.
TJ Parker has come along nicely in his first two games. He had three tackles for loss against the Buccaneers.
Tyler Brown had Clemson’s longest passing play of the day against Duke. He only had two catches for nine yards against CSU, but he had an impressive punt return that saw him take a direct shot from a defender and simply bounced off him and put the Tigers into very nice field position.
I’m not sure how much of the Bucs’ starting defense was still in the game when Jay Haynes entered the contest, but he made his mark with one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown.