Clemson offense – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Elliott: ‘We did a good job they just had a really good game plan’

Clemson struggled to find momentum on offense again in a sluggish 14-8 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The Yellow Jackets out-gained the Tigers 309-284 in total offense. And they took the game to the final seconds before James …

Clemson struggled to find momentum on offense again in a sluggish 14-8 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

The Yellow Jackets out-gained the Tigers 309-284 in total offense. And they took the game to the final seconds before James Skalski made a game saving tackle with 0:15 remaining in the contest and the defense came up big again after Tech recovered an onside kick.

Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott expressed pride in his unit for finding a way to win the game. But admitted Georgia Tech surprised the Tigers early by dropping eight in coverage to take away the opportunity for explosive plays.

“I’m really really proud of our guys because we prepared for who we thought they were going to be and they came out in a structure that was completely different than what we’ve seen,” Elliott said. “And we only saw that one other time, last year against UCF.”

The move by Georgia Tech forced Elliott to reevaluate the Tigers’ game plan. And he felt like they responded well in the second half except for the pivotal fumble by D.J. Uiagalelei in the red zone at the start of the fourth quarter and a turnover on downs in the red zone in the second quarter.

The Yellow Jackets also limited Clemson to nine possessions on the afternoon including the one play fumble that Clemson recovered for a safety with 0:07 to play.

Moving forward Elliott wants to see Clemson limit turnovers and come away with more big plays to get in a rhythm.

“We put together some good drives we just didn’t finish,” Elliott said. “Two times in the red zone we had a fumble and got stopped on fourth down.”

Uiagalelei finished the game 18-of-25 passing for 126 yards and added eight carries for 46 yards on the ground.

He agreed that Georgia Tech out schemed Clemson with unique coverages and credited his team for responding to walk away with a win.

“For the most part we did a good job they just had a really good game plan, hats off to Georgia Tech,” Uiagalelei said. “They did a great job and made it difficult on us but we found a way to win and we got the W.”

The sophomore quarterback has not hit the panic button yet and thinks Clemson is due for a breakout performance on offense.

“(We) just (can) not press man, it’s going to bust open one of these games,” Uiagalelei said. “It’s going to bust open, and we are going to keep rolling. We just have to stay the course, keep going into practice, stay patient and not press.”

Clemson returns to action next Saturday as it continues ACC play against N.C. State at Carter Finley Stadium Raleigh, North Carolina at 3:30 p.m.

Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!

Herbstreit details what’s wrong with Clemson’s offense

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit went in-depth this week on the problems he sees with Clemson’s offense, which mustered only three points and 180 total yards – including just 2 yards rushing – while allowing seven sacks in the Tigers’ …

Herbstreit gave Georgia’s stout defense its due when discussing what’s wrong with Clemson’s offense, though he pointed out that D.J. Uiagalelei’s first game as the Tigers full-time starter didn’t go like many expected it would considering how well Uiagalelei performed in his two starts against Boston College and Notre Dame as a true freshman last season while filling in for Trevor Lawrence.

“They’re a great defense. They are legitimate, worth all the hype,” Herbstreit said during a conversation with ESPN host Matt Barrie on The ESPN College Football Podcast. “But Clemson’s got some things they’ve got to figure out without Trevor Lawrence, without mainly Travis Etienne. D.J. Uiagalelei is going to be a great player. We all know that, right. But I think because of the way he played last year when he was in for Trevor when he had COVID against BC and Notre Dame and he looked so good, I think we just all assumed he would just be that guy, no problem. And maybe he will be. Maybe it was just great Georgia, I don’t know. We’ll see.”

As Herbstreit was calling the Clemson-UGA game with Chris Fowler on ABC last Saturday night, Herbstreit was wondering why Uiagalelei didn’t use his legs more often in the running game than he did.

“I kept saying, why he is not running the ball?” Herbstreit said. “Why is he not taking off, whether it’s a designed run or … I kept kind of showing, like, look at these running lanes on these passes. They’re playing Man Under (coverage), there’s gaping holes. Trevor and Deshaun (Watson) are gone for 25 yards, and maybe that’ll be his film study.

“We just talked about how you get better watching film. Maybe that’ll be something that he and Tony Elliott talk about – hey man, you’ve got to be a willing runner, we need you to run. We’re still trying to figure out our offensive line, still trying to figure out the running backs. You’ve got to be part of the running game and we need your feet. Maybe that’ll be the area that we see him grow. Because I feel like if he can do that, you get some first downs, you get the tempo going, that’s Clemson. Now you’ve got the defense on their heels, then you get aggressive.”

Herbstreit also thinks another issue with Clemson’s offense is that it is missing a true slot receiver like the weapons the Tigers have had out of the slot in the recent past.

“The other thing I’ll say is the great Clemson offenses over the years had that Amari Rodgers, Hunter Renfrow, Artavis Scott – that guy in the inside that was just a pain the butt,” Herbstreit said. “Get in those option routes on third-and-6, and you always had to leverage him and you had to account for him, and when you do that, because it’s a real threat, now you open up these vertical shots with these tall receivers. It feels like all they have are these big, huge, tall receivers, and they’re all great, probably all go to the NFL. But they need a guy that can get in there and wreak havoc in the inside of the defense, especially if the linebackers are blitzing like Georgia was. Right now, they don’t seem to have that.”

As Herbstreit noted, Joseph Ngata stepped up against Georgia. The junior receiver recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game, finishing the game with a career-high six catches for 110 yards.

However, Herbstreit believes the Tigers must run the ball more effectively and stretch the field in the passing game in order to put a real scare into opposing defenses.

“Ngata gave them a little bit of a threat,” Herbstreit said. “Late in the game, he started to make a few catches, but they were contested and he had to hold on and be brave, which he is. But if you can’t run the ball and you don’t have vertical threat, what am I afraid of?”

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Clemson offense ‘can’t get frustrated’ after first scrimmage

Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott felt Clemson had too many self-inflicted wounds on offense in the team’s scrimmage Saturday at the Poe Indoor Practice Facility. But that’s too be expected in the first scrimmage of fall camp especially with a …

Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott felt Clemson had too many self-inflicted wounds on offense in the team’s scrimmage Saturday at the Poe Indoor Practice Facility.

But that’s too be expected in the first scrimmage of fall camp especially with a well-seasoned defense and host of young players on the other side of the ball.

“I told them before that camp is always like this and the defense is going to be a little bit ahead,” Elliott said. “We are not game planning for them and we are going to have play calls that are not going to matchup. So we can’t get frustrated.”

According to Elliot false starts and penalties inhibited the movement of the offense but there were still some highlights.

“My general impression is that we started well moving the ball but we just didn’t finish drives,” Elliott said. “We had some critical drops and too many self-inflicted wounds, penalties, false starts by receivers and the offense line. You have to control the controllables and we didn’t do a good job there.”

But at the end of the scrimmage Elliot saw progress from his unit especially during red zone and situational work at the end of the scrimmage.

“Then we came alive later in the scrimmage and had some situational work down in the red zone and were able to find the end zone,” Elliott said. “It was good work because it’s going to be a great opportunity to evaluate some players. We were not as consistent as we want to be but it’s a great opportunity to go back and work.”

After the scrimmage Elliott turned his attention to reassuring young players to trust the process and not get discouraged.

“A lot of times young guys get frustrated because things don’t match up and I tell them not to focus on that because we are not game planning for the defense we are installing our entire offense to build for the season,” Elliott said. “So the biggest thing for the young guys is helping them stay confident and focus on the things you can control which is you fundamentals and proper communication.”

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Notebook: Day 6 observations of Clemson’s offense

Clemson traveled across the mote to Jervey Meadows on Thursday for the sixth day of fall camp and first day of action in full pads. Another host of NFL teams journeyed to Clemson to scout potential pros. Representatives from the Eagles, Panthers, …

Clemson traveled across the mote to Jervey Meadows on Thursday for the sixth day of fall camp and first day of action in full pads.

Another host of NFL teams journeyed to Clemson to scout potential pros. Representatives from the Eagles, Panthers, Cowboys, Vikings, Jaguars, Bills and Titans were on hand to watch the Tigers suit up in live action.

On Wednesday head coach Dabo Swinney noted that he gave veteran players a day off to get a look at some of the younger players on the roster. A few players took a breather on Thursday including Braden Galloway, B.T. Potter and Will Spiers.

The media was allowed to watch four periods of practice including special teams and individual drills here is what The Clemson Insider observed from the Tigers’ offense.

A few players on offense were in green jerseys meaning they could participate in individual drill but with no contact. Tight end Luke Price was in green for the first time during camp. And wide receivers Beaux Collins and Troy Stellato upgraded from yellow to green.
As usual offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell brought a lot of intensity to practice on Thursday. Caldwell jumped on freshman Tristan Leigh during a drill for letting go of a dummy too soon. He did this for a couple of other players during the drill.
Center Hunter Rayburn looks like a warrior with a bull collar, padded gloves and tape on his wrists.
Head coach Dabo Swinney jumped on Joseph Ngata for having his hands down during punt block drills and coached.
Swinney also gave some extra coaching to freshman wideout Troy Stellato on a toe tap drill to improve his technique. Stellato responded well to the coaching.
Former Clemson wide receiver Artavis Scott led a couple of drills with that unit during practice on Thursday and played an active role in assisting wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham.
Tight end Davis Allen received plenty of compliments from offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Tony Elliott during a blocking drill for his technique.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!