Tag: 2022 Clemson spring game

Clemson predicted as likely landing spot for four-star 2023 QB

Clemson has become the expected landing spot for a highly-touted 2023 quarterback, who will announce his decision on Tuesday.

Four-star quarterback Christopher Vizzina will announce his commitment on Tuesday and Clemson is heating up as his expected choice.

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), the Tigers have a 90.9 percent chance to land Vizzina. The prediction comes after the 2023 signal-caller visited Clemson on Saturday for the Tigers’ annual spring game in his fourth and final visit since November.

Vizinna has six potential schools in his top six: Clemson, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Auburn, Ohio State and Georiga. The RPM gives Georgia and Ole Miss each a 2.1 percent chance to land him.

Out of Briarwood Christian High School in Birmingham, Alabama, Vizzina threw for 2,065 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in his junior season. He also added 600 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.

With his decision coming Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. EDT, the Tigers could be adding a highly touted quarterback recruit to its 2023 class.

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What we learned from Clemson’s spring game

From Clemson’s biggest concern to a potential all-time position group, we learned a good bit from Saturday’s spring game.

College football spring games give a glimpse to fans of what’s to come next season, and Clemson’s Orange vs. White game on Saturday was no exception.

The cold, windy game in Memorial Stadium featured stout defensive outings that gave the two offenses problems all throughout the White team’s 15-7 victory over the Orange team.

“The best thing is to be exposed and gain experience, and so, we had some guys get that today,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said after the game. “It was tough conditions but a lot of fun.”

One spring game that is essentially an open scrimmage should be taken with a grain of salt, but here are some things we learned from Saturday’s matchup.

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Top performers from Clemson’s Orange and White spring game

Here are Clemson’s top performers from the Orange and White spring game.

Clemson just wrapped up its annual Orange and White spring game Saturday, April 9th, at Memorial Stadium, with the White team defeating the Orange team 15-7. In the final piece of football for Clemson this season, we will have a long wait till the next time we get to see the Tigers put on the pads. 

The defenses were in control throughout the game, with some players on the defensive line putting on a show for the Clemson faithful. Though the offenses had a little more trouble, several players found a way to put together some impressive performances.

Here are the top performers from Clemson’s spring game.

Cade Klubnik’s impressive debut as a Clemson quarterback

Freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik highlights Clemson’s Orange and White spring game.

Freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik put together a strong performance in his first action as Clemson quarterback, leading the White team to a 15-7 win over DJ Uiagalelei and the Orange team in Clemson’s Orange and White spring game.

Starting the game under center for the White team, Klubnik completed 15-23 attempts for 106 yards and a touchdown to Hamp Greene that would ultimately win the game. Though he took several sacks in the first half, Klubnik remained confident, showing off a little of what he could do with his legs.

For our first look at the young quarterback against some high-caliber defensive players, it was an overall impressive day for the highly touted recruit. So far so good for the freshman.

On the Orange team, quarterback and returning starter DJ Uiagalelei struggled to get much going on the other side of the field. Completing 17-36 passes for 175 yards and an interception, DJ showed some signs of the problems he was facing last season with his footwork though he physically looked the best he ever has.

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Defense dominates first half of Clemson spring game

Defense takes control in the first half of the Orange and White Game.

The defenses came out to play in Clemson’s Orange and the White spring game as the Orange team leads the White team 7-3 at the end of the first half.

It was a slow-paced first half as neither offense found a way to put together an inspiring drive. Both Jonathan Weitz’s 29-yard field goal for the White team and Phil Mafah’s 6-yard touchdown rush for the Orange team were products of muffed snaps on punts. If the punters hadn’t made these mistakes, the game would have likely been 0-0 heading into the half.

While K.J. Henry put on a show for the White team’s defense, Myles Murphy did the same for the Orange team. In just one half of play, Henry racked up 3.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss as Murphy contributed three sacks to go along with four tackles for loss.

The defenses combined for nine sacks to go along with seventeen tackles for loss in just a half of football and I’m sure the guys on the defensive lines would argue there were more.

Both sophomore DJ Uiagalelei and Freshman Cade Klubnik have struggled to get their offenses going in the much-awaited quarterback battle. Uiagalelei went 10-24 for 116 yards in the first half, while Klubnik completed 13-19 passes for 93 yards.

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Recruits expected to attend Clemson spring game

Wondering who will be attending Clemson’s Orange and White game? Here’s who we expect to attend.

As many schools tend to do, Clemson plans on having many uncommitted recruits attend their Orange and White spring game. The Orange and White game is a game for commits and non-commits alike, though the essential factor is impressing the guys the Tigers are still looking to bring in.

Something Clemson has excelled at throughout Dabo Swinney’s tenure at head coach is recruiting, bringing in high caliber prospects along with some hidden gems along the way. Here is a list of some of the guys you can expect to see today at the Tigers spring game from top recruits to possible hidden gems.

Dabo Swinney says last year’s team ‘overachieved’

After dealing with a plethora of injuries to offensive personnel last season, Dabo Swinney believes his 2021 team made the most of the situation.

In a season filled with injuries to offensive personnel, Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney believes last year’s 10-win season exceeded what the Tigers should have accomplished.

“That team overachieved. There’s no question,” Swinney said on Wednesday. “That team had no business winning 10 games.”

Offensively, the Tigers were decimated by injuries to key players last season, including running back Will Shipley, center Matt Bockhorst and wide receivers Justyn Ross and E.J. Williams.

“It was an unbelievably challenging year,” Swinney said. “That’s why when it’s all said and done, and you really kind of step back and remove yourself from the fray of it, and when you really evaluate that team and that season, unbelievable.”

Clemson’s offense finished with the second-fewest yards per game in the ACC last season. Still, Swinney believes there were a lot of silver linings to take away, including the coaches having to adapt to the available offensive personnel.

“We had to get creative,” Swinney said. “It forced the coaching staff to really be creative because we couldn’t just stick with a plan. We had to really create and find ways to get a first down.”

From rising junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei to wide receiver Beaux Collins, Swinney is proud of how his team responded to adversity and thinks last year’s hardships will benefit the Tigers in the fall.

“We’re going to be a team that, I think, has a deeper appreciation of what it looks like, what it takes,” Swinney said. “And, I think that team last year really reset the appreciation on just winning.”

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