Tag: Clemson fooball

Trotter on how position change has made him a more vocal leader

Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has become a more vocal leader this season playing at Mike linebacker. Saturday, the sophomore played one of his best games as a Tiger when he led the team with 12 total tackles, seven solo tackles and 0.5 …

Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has become a more vocal leader this season playing at Mike linebacker. Saturday, the sophomore played one of his best games as a Tiger when he led the team with 12 total tackles, seven solo tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.

The linebacker spoke to the media on Monday and detailed the adjustment moving into the Mike position.

“It’s been a little bit of an adjustment as far as making the calls, and you have to talk a little bit more at the Mike position and really quarterback the defense, but overall like last year I still tried to work on that at the Will position, just talking and helping out the Mike linebacker when I had the opportunity,” he said. “I feel like that transitioned well going into this year and helped me being able to do that, it being a smooth transition.”

Trotter regards himself as a guy who usually plays within himself, and even going back to high school, he didn’t necessarily consider himself as someone who was a vocal leader, but he realizes that being a vocal leader is necessary for him at this point. The New Jersey native emphasized that college football is all about being able to adapt to the new opportunities and changes that arise and that’s exactly what he’s trying to do.

“I feel like it definitely is a change, because in high school I was a more lead-by-example type of guy,” he said. “I didn’t do too much talking, but coming into college football, I know you have to change up your style sometimes, you have to learn how to do something new. Being a leader at this level, you have to be able to talk to your teammates. You have to be vocal. Moving me into that Mike position definitely has helped with that transition and allowed me to be a more vocal leader.”

Trotter on the defense: ‘You can see a change in mindset coming into this game’

After an uncharacteristic performance by the Clemson defense in the loss to Notre Dame just one week ago, a lot had to be reevaluated in terms of the physicality and motivation of defensive coordinator Wesley Goodwin’s unit. Throughout the season …

After an uncharacteristic performance by the Clemson defense in the loss to Notre Dame just one week ago, a lot had to be reevaluated in terms of the physicality and motivation of defensive coordinator Wesley Goodwin’s unit.

Throughout the season the defense has been hit by the injury bug and week after week, it seems that a different player is sidelined yet again. Prior to the game, it was announced junior linebacker Trenton Simpson would be out with an undisclosed injury.

Coming into the game, the question remained as to how the other linebackers and the defense as a whole would perform despite the absence of some key starters.

However, players like sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. stepped up in a big way. Trotter spoke to the media after the 31-16 win over Louisville and explained that the performance against the Cardinals was a direct reflection of the energy the team brought to practice all week.

“I definitely saw it throughout the week,” he said. “The leaders and older guys of the defense and the offense were stepping up in practice. We had great energy and definitely you can see a change of mindset coming into this game.”

The difference in the defense’s performance over Louisville versus Notre Dame, was not only the team’s energy in the week leading up to the game, but also the simple execution of the plan put in place. Trotter emphasized that the defense was on the dot when it came to executing the game plan this week.

“Really just a great game plan by the coaches, nothing specifically, but we just executed the game plan very well this week,” he said. “I feel like it showed.”

Clemson’s first turnover on Saturday came when Trotter was able to knock the ball loose from Louisville running back Tiyon Evans’ possession. The fumble was then recovered by Clemson safety Jalyn Phillips. Trotter reflected on how it felt to have that kind of performance at this point in the season.

“It definitely feels good to have a game like that,” he said.

The linebacker also expressed the importance of coming together as a unit and assisting Barrett Carter in his transition into playing the box. With Simpson such a dynamic and agile player on the Clemson defense, it was a team effort to instill the confidence in Carter to play into his new role on the field.

“With Trenton out and Barrett coming into a new position he hasn’t played yet, we definitely try to talk him through and help him out,” Trotter said, “and I feel like he really prepared well throughout the week and it showed today.”

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Uiagalelei talks how energy shift helped propel Clemson to win

After a tough loss on the road to Notre Dame, all eyes were on how Clemson would respond to adversity. With the spotlight cast upon quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, there was some pressure to see how he could lead this offense out of the hole it was …

After a tough loss on the road to Notre Dame, all eyes were on how Clemson would respond to adversity. With the spotlight cast upon quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, there was some pressure to see how he could lead this offense out of the hole it was left in following the loss to the Irish. However, the junior signal caller displayed why he’s the starting quarterback for the Tigers in the 31-16 win over the Cardinals.

Uiagalelei spoke to the media after the win over Louisville and was candid that in the previous two games, he was not playing to the standard that he expects of himself.

“I haven’t been playing where I want to play at,” he said, “and the biggest thing for me is to go out there and just play my game, just go out there and have fun, have some joy and cut it loose.”

However, the strength of a great team lies in how it responds to adversity, and that’s exactly what the Tigers had to do coming into the game this week. Uiagalelei reflected on how the energy the team brought to practice this week seamlessly translated into its performance in the game.

“I thought we responded good,” he said. “I felt like we had a good week of practice. I felt like we came out and responded well. I felt like we played hard and that was the biggest thing. I felt like we played real hard. I thought everyone out there was out there playing and having fun. At the end of the day, I thought we were physical and we came out there and dominated.”

“I think the biggest thing was to come out here and I definitely think we wanted to play good tonight and we definitely wanted to play great,” he added. “We wanted to come out here and dominate and try to get back on track for how we play offense.”

According to the signal caller, energy is everything. From practice to the win over Louisville, the team brought the energy this week and that made all the difference in the quarterback’s eyes. Going forward, Uiagalelei emphasized the importance of harnessing this type of energy and preparation for the final stretch of the season.

“It definitely was a great week,” he said. “The biggest thing was the energy was up. The energy was great. Everyone was executing well. We have energy and people out there want to practice, that’s the biggest thing. For us, we will be able to harness that and keep that going. We just need to see when we put weeks together like that, with that type of energy, that type of preparation, that type of focus, then the sky’s the limit for us.”

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!

McFadden on loss to Notre Dame: ‘It almost didn’t feel real at times’

After the loss to Notre Dame on the road, Clemson returned home with an 8-1 record and a lot to figure out on both sides of the ball. With only 281 yards on offense in the loss, nothing seemed to be clicking the entire night. Even the effectiveness …

After the loss to Notre Dame on the road, Clemson returned home with an 8-1 record and a lot to figure out on both sides of the ball. With only 281 yards on offense in the loss, nothing seemed to be clicking the entire night. Even the effectiveness of the run game that we’ve seen this season was just not working for the Tigers, as they had their worst rushing performance of the season against the Irish.

Offensive lineman Jordan McFadden spoke to the media on Monday and expressed his shock at Saturday’s performance. As a veteran on the team, McFadden gave his perspective about what he believes went wrong in the game.

“It’s definitely about studying the tape,” he said. “Saturday’s game came as a shock to me. I feel like we prepared well. I feel like guys were locked in all week. I felt like before the game, guys seemed super locked in and everything like that. So, it was kind of, you know, a shock. It almost didn’t feel real at times.”

The South Carolina native was candid when reflecting on the game and didn’t shy away expressing his disappointment with the team’s overall performance against the Irish.

“We’re definitely disappointed,” he said. “Not what we prepared for, not what we worked all season for or offseason for, definitely not the outcome we wanted. There’s nothing we can go back and do now to change it.”

McFadden questioned what factors may have contributed to the poor offensive showing and ultimately he believes it came down to the unit’s cohesion. He felt like even if 10 guys did everything right, one guy just wasn’t on the same page, and we saw that lack of cohesion reflect in the outcome of the game.

“I feel like when we have mistakes or when we stall out or when we don’t finish drives, it’s because maybe 10 people are doing what they’re supposed to be doing and one person is not doing the right thing,” he said.

The graduate senior shared where the mindset of the offense is now. Sometimes it may be hard to sweep a loss like the one on Saturday under the rug, but McFadden emphasized the importance of redirecting the team’s focus to the next task at hand, which is facing a dynamic Louisville team in Death Valley this weekend.

“Definitely, I’d be lying if I said that we didn’t want to make it to the playoffs,” he said, “but I think right now our focus is getting back on track beating Louisville. I think if we win out, things will take care of itself.”

Running back prospect says ‘Clemson is a top school on my list’ following visit

Peyton Streko, a 2023 running back out of West Forsyth (Ga.) High School, visited Clemson last Saturday where he watched the Tigers rally to beat Syracuse.. The under the radar prospect spoke to The Clemson Insider following his visit about where …

Peyton Streko, a 2023 running back out of West Forsyth (Ga.) High School, visited Clemson last Saturday where he watched the Tigers rally to beat Syracuse..

The under the radar prospect spoke to The Clemson Insider following his visit about where he’s at in his recruiting process.

Streko, who is a former Air Force commit, said to expect an announcement following the conclusion of his high school season.

“There’s no set date, but I’m expecting it to be shortly after my high school season!” he said.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound senior, explained why being a running back at Clemson would be a “great fit” for him.

“Yes, most definitely!” he said. “Clemson is a top school on my list. I feel the running back room has a lot of skill sets I play with and I feel it would be a great fit.”

During his visit, the fans, the team, the coaches and Death Valley itself was simply put, “electric.”

“It was electric, everything from the go ahead score to the game winning atmosphere,” he said. “The fans were in the game the whole time and it was loud. It’s definitely a culture I’d love to play for!”

Streko shared that he had the chance to talk to running backs coach C.J. Spiller and senior offensive assistant Andrew Zow. The main takeaway was the ability to see and experience the leadership that permeates across the entire team.

“Yes, I got to talk a lot with Coach Spiller and Coach Zow,” he said. “I feel on this visit, I developed a stronger relationship with Coach Spiller as we talked about the next processes in my recruiting. The Clemson team culture is everything I want in a team. From being in the locker room after the game and just seeing how they are very family-oriented and there is a crazy amount of leadership on the team.”

The culture referenced by Streko was most evident in the post-game speech held by Coach Dabo Swinney. The running back believes the characteristics Swinney embodies is exactly what he seeks in a coach at the next level.

“There was a lot, but probably the post-game locker room speech by Coach Swinney,” he said. “It was crazy in there after the big win. He was all fired up and then he went over on all the good and bad things that happened and what needed to improve. It’s everything you can ask for in a coach.”

Streko did not put a set date on his college decision announcement but regarded Clemson as having a top place on his list.

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NCAA sets new COVID-19 guidelines for fall sports

With another athletic season quickly approaching in college sports, the NCAA has announced new COVID-19 guidance for fall sports. The primary difference is the testing requirements for Tier 1 individuals based on their vaccination status. The NCAA …

With another athletic season quickly approaching in college sports, the NCAA has announced new COVID-19 guidance for fall sports.

The primary difference is the testing requirements for Tier 1 individuals based on their vaccination status. The NCAA defines Tier 1 individuals as those in college athletics who are at the most risk for exposure to the novel coronavirus, which include student-athletes, coaches and medical staff.

“Despite widespread vaccine availability, current vaccination rates are inadequate to provide community-level immunity and vary significantly state by state and county by county,” the NCAA said in a document released Wednesday outlining the guidelines. “However, because of emerging evidence that the delta variant is highly transmissible, and that fully vaccinated individuals can become infected by the delta variant and transmit COVID-19 to others even when asymptomatic, the concept of community-level immunity becomes less relevant. Instead, prevention strategies become paramount.”

As part of its management considerations for Tier 1 individuals, the NCAA is recommending a PCR test or two antigen tests on non-consecutive days within three to five days of those individuals’ arrival on campus or their return to campus from summer break. Non-vaccinated athletes won’t be able to train or compete until a single PCR test or both antigen tests come back negative.

Once competition starts, testing is being recommended for non-vaccinated individuals during weeks when no games are scheduled. Testing within three days of the first competition of the week (PCR) or within one day of each competition (antigen) is also recommended. The NCAA isn’t requiring vaccinated individuals to be tested unless they’re symptomatic or based on a risk assessment of a documented close contact.

No restrictions are being recommended during training or competition regardless of an individual’s vaccination status. Universal masking for non-vaccinated individuals is recommended during team meetings and other athletic activities while indoor masking is being recommended for vaccinated individuals.

The full guidelines can be found here.

During Clemson football’s media day last month, head coach Dabo Swinney said his team was not fully vaccinated but that the Tigers were “heading in a good direction.” Swinney said he got vaccinated in March and that he and his staff are doing everything possible to educate their players.

Swinney said he’s hopeful the potential on-field consequences of not getting vaccinated will also provide his players more incentive to do the opposite, though the decision to get inoculated or not is ultimately up to them.

“They don’t have to say, ‘OK, we’ll just reschedule this game (like last season),'” Swinney said. “They’ll just forfeit the game. They didn’t reschedule that World Series. So you just miss out on opportunities, but you can mitigate that away this year. There’s a different option. So I think our guys, they get that. They understand that.”