Classes for the fall semester will start at Clemson on Wednesday, which usually signals the beginning of the end of fall camp for the Tigers on the football field.
So with Tuesday’s practice being the last one in which the players had no time constraints, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney decided to use all two hours to focus on certain situations with them. That meant two-minute drills, goal-line scenarios, third-down plays, four-down territory and virtually everything in between inside the team’s indoor practice facility.
“A lot of situational work today, and it was really good for us,” Swinney said. “You don’t want to wait until you get into those situations in games and make some of these mistakes that we have been making. Go ahead and get some of that stuff exposed so that we can teach and get better from it. I don’t have any doubt our guys will do just that.”
Clemson is three days removed from its first fall scrimmage Saturday, which was dominated by the defense. Swinney said Tuesday’s practice was more competitive from an offensive standpoint, though he thought the defense still held the upper hand.
Swinney said the defense came up with a couple of interceptions off tipped balls and also won the 1- and 2-minute drills as well as a majority of the third-down reps, though the group did have what Swinney called some “boneheaded” mistakes.
Among them? A defensive back, which Swinney didn’t identify, pulling down an interception during an end-of-game situation and trying to run with the ball instead of immediately falling to the turf.
“Just situational stuff that we’ve got to teach,” Swinney said.
With classes starting in less than 24 hours, Wednesday will be a light day of work for the players before the Tigers hold their second and final full-scale scrimmage Thursday with the end of camp drawing closer. Swinney said the team will begin implementing prep for its Sept. 4 opener against Georgia into practice starting Monday before moving to full game prep toward the end of next week.
But Swinney said there are still plenty of key personnel evaluations he and his staff need to do between now and then. Clemson still needs to find a featured back in a backfield where there hasn’t been much separation among Lyn-J Dixon, Kobe Pace and Will Shipley to this point. The Tigers also have to settle on a starter at center, which will be part of determining Clemson’s best five along the offensive line.
Those kinds of decisions are looming. Tuesday was all about putting everyone in more competitive situations to help provide the Tigers’ coaching staff more feedback before making those choices.
“A lot of work to do, but I feel good about what these guys have accomplished the last couple of weeks,” Swinney said.
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