Chad Morris hasn’t been on the Clemson sidelines more than 10 years, but he’s been watching. And frankly, he hasn’t enjoyed what he’s witnessed. Back at the helm of a Clemson offense that fell to 11th in scoring last season at 27.2 PPG, Morris isn’t just rolling out a playbook — he’s conducting an autopsy.
After a few days of spring practice, the guy who once converted the Tigers into a national track meet on grass now sees the rot that gave the Tigers a rough 7-6 trip in 2022. The difference between a playoff contender and a player in the Pinstripe Bowl was reduced to a few “unacceptable” factors, according to Morris.
During his first deep dive with the media since spring ball’s beginning, Morris cited a lack of precision that has haunted the program during its recent slide.
“It’s the little, subtle details that might have gone unnoticed,” Morris said Friday. “It definitely could have taken place in fall camp or it could have taken place in spring ball, and it just somehow slipped that way and it was a progression that we just didn’t have the time to do.”
For a program establishing its “WRU” persona as “Elite,” Morris was especially forthright about the Tigers’ trend of leading the ACC last year with dropped passes. The stat is a stain on the jersey for a coach who had once led some of the most sure-handed targets in school history.
“Leading the ACC in drops at Clemson is completely unacceptable,” Morris said, adding that the player is already trying to deal with the “identity crisis” at the catch point with Wide Receivers coach Tyler Grisham and the tight end room.
While that “YOLO hire” tag seems to be seeping into the national media, inside the building, Morris is leaning into a “Nothing Slides” approach. Previous years were defined by being “close” to making plays, but Morris is asking why they weren’t.
“There was so much... three or four plays here and there, and things change,” Morris said. “But what was the reason those three or four plays didn’t happen? It is the small things and everyday actions that add up eventually. No, that’s my challenge: we are not letting anything slide."
Despite the statistical wipeout in the 2022 season, Morris says he has inherited a locker room that has had enough of losing. Even as legends like DeAndre Hopkins have declared his return publicly supported, the current roster, led by QB Christopher Vizzina, now is said to be buying into the high-intensity, “everything has a purpose” philosophy.
“They want it; you can see the hunger in their eyes; these guys are hungry,” Morris said. That hunger will be tried very soon. With a cross-conference heavyweight game against LSU coming up on Sept. 5, Morris knows that “almost” won’t cut it in Baton Rouge.
If the Tigers want that return to the top of the mountain, the era of ignoring the circumstances is finally behind them.