Clemson returned to practice on Saturday for the second day of fall camp at the practice fields behind the Allen Reeves Football Complex.
Scouts from a host of NFL teams including the Broncos, Texans, Jets, Rams, Chiefs and Bengels tagged along for practice to observe a host of players on both sides of the ball.
Matt Bockhorst stood out for his leadership amongst the rest of the offensive line throughout individual and team drills. He mostly played left guard but also got work at other spots on the line including a rep at center.
Here are some observations from Saturday’s two and a half hour practice in helmets only without contact.
Offensive Line
- Offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell jumped on freshman Marcus Tate a couple of times during individual work. Bockhorst also stepped in and provided some words and wisdom for the young freshman as he works to get acclimated in a new system.
- The starting line for most of the day consisted of left tackle Jordan McFadden, left guard Bockhorst, center Mason Trotter, right guard Will Putnam and right tackle Walker Parks.
- The next group of offensive lineman consisted of left tackle Mitchell Mayes, left guard John Williams, center Hunter Rayburn, right guard Paul Tchio and right tackle Jordan McFadden.
Running Backs
- Kobe Pace took the first team reps at running back on Saturday and looked impressive. He showed the same explosive speed Clemson fans saw in the spring game and boasts impressive size.
- Pace was also the first running back to take reps in good-on-good work in the final period of practice.
- The order during most of the drills and team work was Pace, Lyn-J Dixon, Darien Rencher and then Will Shipley.
- Shipley’s speed is the real deal and he’s not scared to bump a little in the interior line either. He finished first in team sprints by far and turned on the jets at the second level in good on good.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Two wide receivers entered practice with yellow jerseys which means no contact or team drills and also rehab during portions of practice. Beaux Collins and Troy Stellato both wore yellow during the second day of camp.
- As usual head coach Dabo Swinney doubled as a key part of the wide receiver indy period of practice. He set up dummies and equipment for the drilling period and aided wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham in instruction.
- Davis Allen looked sharp at tight end with a lot of first team reps as Braden Galloway struggled at times. Allen burnt Barrett Carter on a post route in one on ones.
- Frank Ladson also made a nice play on the ball on a fly route against Sheridan Jones in one on ones.
- Joseph Ngata took an awkward fall after a one on one with Andrew Booth and seemed shaken up for a few minutes. But he quickly returned to action and looked fine the rest of practice.
- Ajou Ajou showed his athleticism and freaky ability to make plays with a snag over the top of Andrew Mukuba. He got work at both the field and boundary positions at outside receiver.
- Jaelyn Lay is a freak of nature.
- The receiver group did not have the best day overall with a plethora of dropped passes.
Quarterbacks
- D.J. Uiagalelei unsurprisingly made plenty of good looking throws. He threaded the needle on a few passes including a pass to E.J. Williams for a first down between two defenders in double coverage.
- Uiagalelei also demonstrated his patience on making reads and not being afraid to throw to his check down routes.
- Hunter Helms took the second team reps. But Taisun Phommachanh also got some work throwing in 7-on-7.
- Will Taylor showed guts and was not afraid to make passes in tight window. He also broke free for a long run in team drills at the end of practice.
Team
- The starting lineup was as follows in tempo drills for the offense: QB Uiagalelei, RB Pace, WR Ngata, WR Williams, WR Ladson, TE Allen, LT McFadden, LG Bockhorst, C Trotter (Rayburn and Bockort also repped), RG Putnam and RT Parks.
- By the end of practice Allen took the majority of reps at tight end. Galloway ran out first in good-on-good but missed a blocking assignment on Justin Mascoll.
- Clemson ran a formation where Pace split out to the field side on the outside of the set at wide receiver.
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