Spring football has come and gone throughout the college football landscape as teams look towards the 2022 college football season.
Of all the teams in the ACC, the most questions surround Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers. In particular, the offense draws the most curiosity heading into next season.
Is the quarterback position still a worry for the Tigers? Is the offensive line going to improve? Will the team deal with all the injury problems they did last season?
There is so much uncertainty surrounding this Clemson offense heading into next season, answers are needed. Here’s what ESPN’s Andrea Adelson and David M. Hale learned about the Tigers and need to learn come week one.
What we learned this spring: There’s no immediate cure to Clemson’s QB woes. If fans were hoping highly touted freshman Cade Klubnik would offer a genuine alternative to much-maligned D.J. Uiagalelei, there was little evidence of a real competition this spring. Indeed, Uiagalelei drew a fair amount of praise from coaches after he arrived with a slimmed-down physique and a renewed focus on football. Meanwhile, Klubnik endured his share of freshman mistakes. That much might’ve been expected, but after Clemson saw early signs that Deshaun Watson or Trevor Lawrence would ultimately unseat a veteran ahead of them on the depth chart during their first spring practices, there’s a lot more gray area with Klubnik and plenty of questions remaining about Uiagalelei.
What we need to learn by Week 1: Pretty much everything about the offense. Following a season defined by offensive injuries and ineptitude, spring ball at Clemson was largely marked by … offensive injuries and ineptitude. There was progress in a few areas, and new offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter and passing game coordinator Kyle Richardson talked at length about a trimmed-down playbook aimed at letting playmakers make plays. Thing is, there weren’t many playmakers on the field during spring ball. From Beaux Collins to Will Shipley to Kobe Pace and Will Taylor, there just weren’t many options for the QBs to use. And while Dabo Swinney says he’s in the market for a transfer on the O-line, the existing group remains a work in progress. In other words, the only offensive certainty after spring is that there’s still not much that’s certain.
What it comes down to for the Tigers next season is whether they’ll be able to get it done on offense. The defense shapes up to be one of the best groups in the country, if not the best.
We didn’t get any clear answers from spring football at quarterback, with both Uiagalelei and Klubnik looking underwhelming in Clemson’s Orange and White spring game, which is the real key here.
If we learned anything about Clemson from this offseason, the questions about this offense and play under center are still Tigers’ biggest concern.
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