What We Heard: Carson Donnelly

Safety Carson Donnelly spoke to the media on Wednesday ahead of Clemson’s first home game against Furman. Donnelly, a redshirt senior, had his first career punt block in the second quarter, which set Clemson up for its first touchdown of the season. …

Safety Carson Donnelly spoke to the media on Wednesday ahead of Clemson’s first home game against Furman.

Donnelly, a redshirt senior, had his first career punt block in the second quarter, which set Clemson up for its first touchdown of the season. Donnelly shared what contributed to that block and how he believes special teams can shift the momentum of games, much like what happened against Georgia Tech. 

“Definitely like reaction. I mean, we have drill work that we do, but it’s kind of like see ball, go get ball,” he said. “It was kind of like a reaction thing. I just got through there and made the play.”

Although the play came almost reactionary for Donnelly, he shifted his position to be able to physically push past Tech’s line of protection.

“I knew they were blocking down on me,” he said. “A couple of punts before, I knew the guy to the left of me was blocking down, so I kind of cut my split in and dipped my shoulder, and he kind of barely grazed me and pushed me into the punt. So, I saw it and just made it happen.”

Donnelly reiterated that the play didn’t come as a result of a shifted scheme, rather a basic call was made. Donnelly just was able to push through and make the play possible.

“Well, they had a new special teams coordinator, so we really didn’t know what they were going to do,” he said. “So we kind of called a basic call, and it just kind of happened to play out like that.”

Donnelly, being a senior, takes pride in his effort on special teams. He expressed how he believes that assistant coach Mickey Conn and special teams coordinator Mike Reed really instill that the special teams unit can make an impact on the field. When they take the field, it’s the effort they put in that can help make important plays in the game.

“I just think it’s taking pride in your job. Especially on special teams, it’s effort and giving all that you have,” he said. “It’s really just creating momentum, doing what you can to help the offense and put them in position. I know that blocked punt got us inside the 10(-yard line), and that really sparked the offense.”

The weight of each moment this season is not floating by Donnelly. He understands that each moment will be his last. He simply wants to be present in each moment and fully enjoy the season for whatever it may bring.

“That’s my word for the year. It’s enjoy,” he said. “I really just want to enjoy my last season with my teammates. All the gameday experiences and even the Friday night dinner, the Friday night movies, all that stuff. I’m just really trying to enjoy and take in the moment.”

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Clemson’s special teams tackle a Dabo Swinney era first

Clemson’s special teams had a historic night amidst the Tigers win over Georgia Tech.

In Clemson’s 41-10 victory over Georgia Tech on Monday, the Tigers defense wasn’t the only group that gave the Yellow Jackets trouble on the field.

Clemson’s special teams had a historic night, blocking two punts for the first time since back in 2007 when Nelson Faerber and La’Donte Harris recorded a pair against South Carolina.

The Tigers recorded their first successful blocked punt since 2015 in the second quarter. Safety Carson Donnelly came up with the big block which was returned by wide receiver Brannon Spector for 13 yards. Clemson’s second blocked punt of the night came later in the fourth quarter. True freshman Wade Woodaz came away with the second blocked punt, allowing linebacker LaVonta Bentley to recover the ball for 10 yards.

“It was just adrenaline… it was really cool,” Donnelly said. “We prepped for it, we schemed it up and then the moment, it just happened. It all happened so fast… I blocked it and looked up and the ball was there. Brannon [Spector] picked it up and I got to block for him, so it was a cool moment for sure and all the preparation that went into it.”

Both blocked punts were later cashed in for two of the Tiger’s five touchdowns on Monday and were a first for head coach Dabo Swinney at the helm of the Clemson program.

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A moment 15 years in the making for Clemson’s special teams

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney vividly remembers the last time it happened because it had been a while. Fifteen years, to be exact. Swinney wasn’t the Tigers’ head coach during the 2007 season, but he was a member of Tommy Bowden’s staff. Then Clemson’s …

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney vividly remembers the last time it happened because it had been a while.

Fifteen years, to be exact.

Swinney wasn’t the Tigers’ head coach during the 2007 season, but he was a member of Tommy Bowden’s staff. Then Clemson’s receivers coach, Swinney looked on as two of his wideouts, Nelson Faerber and La’Donte Harris, each blocked a punt in the Tigers’ regular-season finale at South Carolina to help Clemson squeak out a 23-21 victory over the rival Gamecocks.

“I’ll never forget it,” Swinney said. “It set the tone.”

Late Monday night, it happened again.

For the first time in Swinney’s tenure as head coach, Clemson blocked a pair of punts in the Tigers’ 41-10 win over Georgia Tech. Former walk-on safety Carson Donnelly and freshman linebacker Wade Woodaz were credited with the blocks.

Donnelly came up with the first block early in the second quarter, setting up the offense with its shortest field of the night at a time when it was needed. With just 42 yards and two first down in the first quarter, Clemson’s offense got off to a slow start. But Donnelly sped past Tech’s protection to get a hand on David Shanahan’s fourth punt of the night.

Receiver Brannon Spector picked up the loose ball and returned it to the Yellow Jackets’ 5-yard line. Four plays later, Will Shipley gave Clemson a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run.

“What a huge play,” Swinney said. “I’m really happy for Carson Donnelly, and I’m glad we were able to punch that in to get the points.”

With the offense settling in and the defense suffocating Tech for much of the night (3.8 yards per play), Clemson eventually pulled away with an assist from Woodaz, who essentially put the game on ice for the Tigers when he came through with his block deep in Tech territory with less than 8 minutes left.

It set the offense up at the Yellow Jackets’ 15, and Shipley chased in again four plays later with his final touchdown run of the night to push Clemson’s lead to 34-10.

“Really, really proud of the special teams and what we were able to do,” Swinney said.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

The 4-1-1 on Clemson’s opening win over Georgia Tech

ATLANTA – No. 4 Clemson (1-0) began its season with a win over Georgia Tech (0-1) tonight at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Here are four sequences that went a long way in determining the outcome, a turning point and a telling stat from the Tigers’ 41-10 …

ATLANTA – No. 4 Clemson (1-0) began its season with a win over Georgia Tech (0-1) tonight at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Here are four sequences that went a long way in determining the outcome, a turning point and a telling stat from the Tigers’ 41-10 victory.

  • Clemson got a special-teams boost early in the second quarter when Carson Donnelly broke through Tech’s protection and blocked David Shanahan’s punt. The loose ball was recovered by Brannon Spector, who set Clemson’s offense up with what was easily its best field position of the night at Tech’s 5-yard line. The Tigers managed just 4 yards on their next three snaps but decided to go on fourth-and-goal. The decision paid off when Will Shipley sped in off left tackle from a yard out to give Clemson a 7-0 lead with 9 minutes, 43 seconds left in the second quarter.
  • Tech went 42 yards in nine plays midway through the second quarter for its first trip into Clemson territory, but the Yellow Jackets eventually stalled and came up empty when Jude Kelley’s 50-yard field-goal attempt missed the mark. Clemson’s offense took over and put together its best drive of the half, marching 67 yards on eight plays to pad its lead. D.J. Uiagalelei, who went 3 of 4 passing on the drive, capped the scoring drive by rolling to his right to avoid pressure before hitting Beaux Collins in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass that made it 14-0 Clemson with 3:52 left in the half.
  • Tech took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched into Clemson territory, though the Tigers had multiple chances to get the Yellow Jackets off the field. First, with Tech facing fourth-and-6 from the Tigers’ 37, Sims connected with Malik Rutherford over the middle for 10 yards to keep the drive alive. Four plays later, K.J. Henry’s pressure forced Sims into an early throw, which went through the hands of linebacker Jeremiah Trotter near the goal line. The Yellow Jackets made Clemson pay for the missed opportunity one play later when Sims found E.J. Jenkins in the back corner of the end zone for a 13-yard score to cut the Tigers’ lead to 14-10 with less than 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
  • Clemson scored points on consecutive drives in the third quarter and put together its longest drive of the game to again push its lead to double digits, even if getting there was a bit unorthodox. On the latter possession, with Clemson facing third-and-4 from its own 32, Uiagalelei looked as if he might go down for a sack. But Clemson’s quarterback shoveled the ball to Shipley just before falling to the ground, and Shipley raced 10 yards for a fresh set of downs. Uiagalelei completed his next three passes to move the Tigers deep into Tech territory before capping the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run, giving Clemson a 24-10 lead late in the third quarter.

Turning point

Already with a two-touchdown lead, Clemson took control early in the fourth quarter when Tech opted to go on fourth-and-2 from its own 42. Hassan Hall got the handoff on a jet sweep but was tripped up behind the line, turning the ball over on downs to Clemson. The Tigers moved into the red zone in three plays and eventually tacked on a B.T. Potter field goal, and the offense was immediately set up with another short field when Clemson notched its second blocked punt on Tech’s ensuing possession. Shipley was in the end zone four plays later, giving the Tigers a commanding 34-10 lead that allowed them to start emptying the bench.

Telling stat: 20

That’s how many yards Clemson had to cover on two of its touchdown drives thanks to a pair of blocked punts. First, Donnelly broke through to block David Shanahan’s punt early in the second quarter to set Clemson’s offense up at Tech’s 5. That led to the Tigers’ first touchdown of the night. Early in the fourth quarter, freshman Wade Woodaz got in on the fun with a block of his own, setting up Clemson’s final touchdown of the night at the Yellow Jackets’ 15. On a night when the offense had its ups and downs, special teams provided a lift that helped Clemson pull away.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Halftime Report: No. 4 Clemson 14, Georgia Tech 3

Clemson holds the lead 14-3 at the half over Georgia Tech.

After the first half of Clemson’s matchup against Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Tigers came away with the 14-3 lead, but not without some struggles.

Clemson started off Monday night’s contest with a bang thanks to safety Andrew Mukuba’s pick off of Georgia Tech’s Jeff Sims in the first offensive play of the game. The Tigers were unable to convert though and struggled to make it happen offensively for the majority of the first half.

Will Shipley finally got Clemson on the board in the second. After a huge blocked punt by former walk-on Carson Donnelly on special teams that was recovered by wide receiver Brannon Spector for 15 yards, Shipley later returned the ball for a one-yard rushing touchdown to give the Tigers the 7-0 lead with 10 minutes to go.

Fourth-ranked Clemson struck yet again in the second quarter this time with a 6-yard connection between quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei and wide receiver Beaux Collins to extend the lead to 14-0. The Yellow Jackets responded with Jude Kelley’s 45-yard field goal for a score of 14-3 at the half.

Though Clemson had its struggles on the offensive front, the Tigers defense so far has been lights out from the get-go. First-year defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin’s defense recorded 47 total tackles, 7 for a loss, one interception and one pass breakup.

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Shipley runs it in to put Clemson up 7-0

Shipley runs it in to give Clemson the 7-0 lead over Yellow Jackets.

After a scoreless first quarter, Clemson got on the board first in the second thanks to a huge special teams play that set up Will Shipley’s one-yard rushing touchdown to take the 7-0 lead over Georgia Tech.

It all came down to a clutch blocked punt by safety Carson Donnelly that was recovered by wide receiver Brannon Spector for 15 yards, which gave the Tigers the ball on the five yard line.

Following two runs for a three-yard gain by running back Phil Mafah, Shipley ran it in for one-yard to give Clemson the early edge.

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