Football season officially arrived for Clemson on Friday with the Tigers holding their first practice of fall camp at the practice fields behind the Allen Reeves Football Complex. The practice lasted nearly three hours and was open to the media in its entirety.
Here’s what The Clemson Insider observed on the offensive side of the ball:
*Backup QB Taisun Phommachanh (Achilles) practiced without a boot on his left foot and showed no signs of favoring an injury, though Phommachanh was still a limited participant. He went through team and individual drills consisting mostly of straight dropbacks but watched when rollouts or any sort of lateral movement were involved.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney reiterated Phommachanh is expected to be back to full health sooner rather than later.
*When Phommachanh wasn’t participating in drills or team periods, sophomore walk-on Hunter Helms took reps with the second-team offense. Another walk-on, freshman Billy Wiles, took most of the third-team reps at quarterback.
*With Justyn Ross not available as he goes through COVID-19 protocol, the receivers getting most of the first-team reps were Ladson, Joseph Ngata and E.J. Williams. Ajou Ajou and freshman Troy Stellato also rotated in.
*Left guard Matt Bockhorst was in a no-contact jersey and bounced in and out with the starting offensive line. Paul Tchio took most of the first-team reps when Bockhorst was held out. The rest of the first-team offensive line consisted of Jordan McFadden at left tackle, Mason Trotter at center, Will Putnam at right guard and Walker Parks at right tackle.
*There was a lot of rotating in the backfield, but Kobe Pace got most of the first-team reps at running back.
*Freshman running back Will Shipley frequently got second-team reps and showed impressive speed, which continued to impress his teammates. In fact, McFadden opined Shipley may be the fastest player on the Tigers’ roster.
“I would probably say so,” McFadden said. “Him, (receiver) Frank Ladson and some of the (defensive backs).”
*Junior receiver Max May produced one of the highlights for the offense when he went up over freshman safety Andrew Mukuba in the end zone to haul in a contested touchdown catch.
*Tight end Jaelyn Lae made an impressive catch during skelly drill, extending his 6-foot-6, 270-pound frame to make a grab along the sideline.
*Swinney lit into tight end Jake Briningstool at one point during skelly drill. Swinney wasn’t particularly pleased with the freshman for not recognizing and adjusting to a certain coverage after the snap.
*Freshman receiver Beaux Collins wore a no-contact jersey and was seen on the sideline icing his left shoulder at one point.
*Freshman Will Taylor, who’s listed as a quarterback and receiver on the roster, took all of his reps at quarterback in his first collegiate practice.