With just one order of business left for Clemson to tend to this spring, head coach Dabo Swinney has some specific things he wants to see on the field and in the stands during the Tigers’ spring game.
The annual Orange and White game this weekend will count as the Tigers’ 15th and final practice, putting a bow on the spring season. Clemson on Wednesday held its final practice in preparation for Saturday’s 1 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium.
Swinney said he wants to see “a good, competitive game” despite the Tigers being without roughly 20 scholarship players because of injuries and illness. For the players further down the depth chart that have gotten more significant reps this spring as a result, Swinney said he would like to see them translate their practice performance over to the game-like environment.
“I want to see some of those guys that maybe haven’t played as many reps and aren’t going to have to play a ton of reps in the season, I want to see how they respond,” Swinney said. “I want to see how they handle it. Just see them take and execute what we’ve done this spring and not have a bunch of missed assignments. Guys that haven’t had much opportunity that are going to get some opportunity, show that they know what to do. And just go have some fun and put on a good show for the crowd.”
Swinney added it’s a “great opportunity” in a competitive environment for quarterbacks D.J. Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik, who have both received praise from coaches for their performance this spring. It will be Klubnik’s first time playing in front of a crowd inside Memorial Stadium after the five-star signee enrolled in January as a mid-year enrollee.
The same goes for players at other positions, including the offensive and defensive lines as well as cornerback and special teams, Swinney said. He added he’d also like to see a “huge crowd” in attendance for multiple reasons.
Admission is free.
“We’re going to have a ton of recruits there and a lot of former players coming back,” Swinney said. “Got a lot of families that are going to be here. This is huge deal for these players. That’s one of the reasons why we went ahead and split the team even though we’re thin in some areas. Because that’s the only way you can create (a game environment). It’s such a rare opportunity that you get to create a game environment in practice.”
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