Clemson Football could have two new starters on offensive line after the bye week

Clemson Football is at the mid-point of their season, which is a great place to have a bye week. It allows teams to get a little rest and allow nagging injuries to heal a bit.

It is also a good time for transitions if a team is looking to make any changes in their starting lineups. This might be the case for the Clemson offensive line.

I think the offensive line has done a good job this season overall. If I were to give them a mid-term grade, it would be a B.

The overall pass blocking by the line this season has been wonderful.  PFF gave them a 90.7 this past weekend against Wake Forest, which is very good. There have been occasional breakdowns, which appear to be due to misses by individuals, which is inevitable when you need five guys to get the job done. As a unit, they have been very good in pass blocking.

The opposite is the case in run blocking. PFF gave them a 49.9 against Wake Forest, which is very bad. This is reflected in the Clemson rushing attack this season. Per teamrankings.com, the Tigers rank 42nd in yards per game against FBS competition. That isn’t horrible, but not what anyone expected with running backs like Will Shipley and Phil Mafah in the backfield.

Snaps against Wake Forest suggest changes are coming for the Clemson Football offensive line

The Tigers have lost one starter due to injury. Walker Parks has announced he will return in 2024 since his season was cut short, but until then Clemson must fill his absence at right guard. Mitchell Mayes got the first shot at the job but hasn’t excelled. Freshman Harris Sewell got most of the snaps against Wake Forest.

Sewell didn’t get a great PFF grade, but it appears the staff feels he is the best option for the time being at right guard, which suggests he will be in the starting line-up when the Tigers play in Miami.

Another place we might see a change is at left tackle. Tristan Leigh had started there so far and played the most snaps, but Collin Sadler has been slowly getting more playing time. Sadler registered 45 snaps to Leigh’s 25 against Wake Forest. Sadler also received the best PFF grade of all the linemen on Saturday.

While no announcements have been made by the staff, and nothing is confirmed, the odds are good that the offensive line could have two new starters when the Tigers take on the Hurricanes on October 21st.