Over the weekend, Clemson surpassed Georgia Tech in its first ACC matchup, 14-8, a small margin of victory by just six points as Week 3 of the college football season comes to a close. The flaws of the Clemson offense have been exposed each week as it becomes increasingly evident that the problem the Tigers have replacing quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne are far from over.
Offensive coordinator Tony Elliot said earlier this season that he hoped to see the offensive line building more cohesion and creating creases to give running backs more opportunities. However, it’s going to take the presence of strong, vocal leaders in the trenches to turn things around.
A former guard who cross-trained to center, Matt Bockhorst, has set the standard for leadership on offense, but left tackle Jordan McFadden will look to take on a bigger leadership role this season as well.
McFadden, who normally has a quiet manner to him, has accepted that his experience as an older player prompts him to be more of a leader.
“That’s not necessarily my nature or my personality, but I think that’s what the team needs, so I’ve tried to accept that role,” he said. “Every day, I’m working to be a better vocal leader.”
On how McFadden says he will accomplish that, he plans to be as encouraging as possible, especially toward the younger guys.
“Just getting the guys together, not in front of the coaches, and just having a players’ talk,” he said. “Playing football is a difficult game, and I know a lot of guys get down on themselves, so just trying to be that older guy that’s always encouraging and always helping.”
With so much youth making up Clemson’s offense, McFadden is confident in the amount of depth they have.
“I think we had a really good offseason in the weight room,” he said. “Guys like Mitchell Mayes are making tremendous progress. So are Hunter Rayburn and Paul Tchio. The only way to grow is to make mistakes and learn from them. Playing offensive line is difficult as it is, and I think we’re still just in a sense of building that chemistry. We’ve got guys that care so much, so I’m excited for what is to come honestly.”
McFadden believes it to be the small details that are holding the Tigers back from executing properly.
“There’s bright spots, and there are definitely spots we have to improve,” he said. “Just watching film, there’s opportunities that we missed. I think we’re moving the ball pretty well, but we just get to the 30(-yard line) or the 40 and we stall out. And instead of stalling out, we need points so just finishing is also a big thing. After the first snap, I was like, ‘This is not what we practiced.’ It took us longer than I would have liked to adjust.”
The Tigers will have another opportunity to improve their offense at Carter Finley Stadium against North Carolina State on Saturday.
“Being on the road makes the whole team come together. It’s not just the offense, the defense or the special teams,” he said. “We’re playing in an environment where it’s just us versus everybody else in that stadium. It’s going to be loud, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to love it. This is why you play games. This is why you play football.”