Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
There are some that think Georgia is just going to roll right over Clemson in the Duke’s Mayo Kickoff Classic. Levon Kirkland and myself discuss that, as well as breakdown the matchups up front on both the offensive and defensive lines. We also have …
There are some that think Georgia is just going to roll right over Clemson in the Duke’s Mayo Kickoff Classic. Levon Kirkland and myself discuss that, as well as breakdown the matchups up front on both the offensive and defensive lines.
We also have interviews with Clemson offensive lineman Matt Bockhorst and defensive end Justin Foster.
Football is a physical game by nature. That’s particularly true in the trenches. And for Clemson’s offensive line, it’s been a constant talking point considering how last season went. The Tigers averaged just 4.4 yards per rush and 153.8 rushing …
Football is a physical game by nature. That’s particularly true in the trenches.
And for Clemson’s offensive line, it’s been a constant talking point considering how last season went.
The Tigers averaged just 4.4 yards per rush and 153.8 rushing yards per game, 10th-worst in the ACC and the team’s fewest since rushing for less than 147 yards on average back in 2014. And that was with the services of Travis Etienne, who finished his stellar collegiate career as the ACC’s all-time leading rusher before taking his talents to the NFL in April.
To put all the blame for the lack of a consistent running game at the feet of the offensive line would be unfair considering play calls, blocking schemes and health all play a part, but those who were a part of the group have been candid in their assessment of the line’s performance last season, which included what they felt was a lack of consistent physicality.
“I wouldn’t say we lacked physicality at all points, but it’s pretty fair to say we were inconsistent with it,” said senior left guard Matt Bockhorst, who’s also in the running for the starting job at center. “And that’s something that you’ve got to look at the man in the mirror and consider how you’re going to improve upon that.”
Bockhorst said many of Clemson’s linemen have added what he called “good weight” to help them be more physical at the point of attack, but fellow senior Jordan McFadden said improving in that aspect has been about the unit taking on a different mindset as much as anything else.
With right guard Will Putnam also back, the Tigers are returning three starters along the offensive line.
“We don’t want to be a dirty offensive line by any means, but we want to outphysical every opponent,” said McFadden, who’s making the switch from right tackle to left. “We want to play to the whistle. No matter how tired you get.”
Though McFadden said the group doesn’t want to make any excuses for the way it performed in the running game, he felt like injuries impacted the line’s performance at times. Clemson dealt with its share of them up front last season, including Bockhorst, who’s healthy again after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery shortly after the season.
“I feel the best I’ve felt in over a year,” Bockhorst said.
Freshman Dietrick Pennington (foot/ankle) has missed some time during camp, but other than that, the line has maintained a relatively clean bill of health leading up to the Tigers’ marquee opener against Georgia on Sept. 4. And with more young linemen ready to play than Clemson had at this time last year, McFadden said he’s more optimistic about the depth of the unit, which he believes should help the unit maintain its collective aggressiveness.
“If I get tired, another guy can come in and we’ll keep rolling guys in and be fresh,” McFadden said. “I would say our biggest thing is playing to the whistle. And finishing people to the ground. I think that’s a big emphasis for us as well.”
Physicality has also been harped on with the group because of who it will be squaring off against in Week 1. Led by a couple of space eaters on the interior in nose guard Jordan Davis (6-foot-6, 340 pounds) and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (6-3, 315), Georgia has been the nation’s top rush defense two years running and ranked seventh in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total yards allowed last season (305.9 per game).
But the Tigers can talk about it until they’re blue in the face. The group knows how it performs against the defenses other than its own is all that matters.
And that’s really all that’s left for the line to do at this point.
“Let’s just spot the ball and play and see if we’re really about it,” Bockhorst said. “Talking season is soon to be over. You’re either going to talk about it or be about it. It’s one of the two, and you’re going to find out real quick.”
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!
Matt Bockhorst is not sure where Will Taylor will end up playing in the future at Clemson, but the Tigers’ veteran offensive lineman knows wherever Taylor plays he is going to be a star. “I think about a guy like Will Taylor, you know he is a …
Matt Bockhorst is not sure where Will Taylor will end up playing in the future at Clemson, but the Tigers’ veteran offensive lineman knows wherever Taylor plays he is going to be a star.
“I think about a guy like Will Taylor, you know he is a winner,” Bockhorst said. “I don’t know what position he is going to end up at, but that dude, he is a winner. That is all you can say.”
Taylor is currently working as Clemson’s third-team quarterback. However, the freshman has received raved reviews from his teammates and coaches. Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott has spoken highly of him, and head coach Dabo Swinney compared him to Boston College and Heisman Trophy great Doug Flutie.
“He’s electric, makes all these throws from crazy angles and you wonder how did he even see that guy? But he sees them all and gets the ball off,” Swinney said. “I’m sure that’s what people said about Doug Flutie back in the day. He’s a special dude, has ice water in his veins and we got us a good one right there.”
Taylor was a winner at Dutch Fork High School in Columbia, South Carolina. He led the Silver Foxes to a fifth straight state championship last fall. He also excelled on the baseball diamond as a centerfielder and won another state championship. He also won a wrestling state championship early in his high school career.
On the football field, he threw for 2,237 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2020, while rushing for 448 yards and 11 more scores. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry.
“His ability to make plays when the play breaks down is incredible,” Bockhorst said. “Sometimes, you see that a lot with guys in high school, but then when they get to the college level, they can’t do it as much because they are going against better players. But he is shifty and nimble. Man, that kid is quick. So, I am excited to see where that kid ends up because he is a ballplayer. He is a winner.”
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!
When D.J. Uiagalelei rolled into town last year, he had a very unique presence to him. He had a quiet confidence about him, a confidence that was very noticeable to his teammates. That confidence spilled over into the season, especially when he was …
When D.J. Uiagalelei rolled into town last year, he had a very unique presence to him. He had a quiet confidence about him, a confidence that was very noticeable to his teammates.
That confidence spilled over into the season, especially when he was forced into action following Trevor Lawrence’s positive test for COVID-19, just two days prior to the Boston College game. Uiagalelei shined in leading Clemson to its largest comeback ever at Death Valley.
The Tigers trailed by 18 points (28-10) late in the second quarter, but the true freshman never faltered, throwing for 342 yards and two touchdowns, while completing 30-of-41 passes with no interceptions. He also ran 30 yards for a touchdown in a 34-28 victory.
The next week at No. 4 Notre Dame, with all of America watching, he threw for more yards (439) than any player ever has against the Irish. He completed 29-of-44 passes, while throwing two more touchdowns and running for another, as he almost pulled off another come-from-behind victory.
Uiagalelei is now taking those experiences and is carrying them over to this season where he is expected to be the leader of a Clemson team that is looking for its seventh straight ACC Championship and appearance in the College Football Playoff.
“Now, obviously, he has very quiet demeanor, but he has become more of a vocal guy in the huddle,” guard/center Matt Bockhorst said. “He knows he is kind of the guy everyone looks towards to really run the show at the end of the day. So, he has done a great job, and I know he is getting better and better with his decision making, getting the ball out quick and all of that stuff. So, I know D.J. has had a really good camp.”
Bockhorst does not want anyone to have the wrong idea. The senior offensive lineman says Uiagalelei’s assertiveness this year is not forced by any means.
“You never want to be fabricated as a leader or be someone that you are not. I totally get that,” Bockhorst said. “Some guys, just by nature, are not vocal. But I think with him, it is kind of him interjecting in his own way and kind of giving those little notes of encouragement and kind of giving those little tips and keys before we go out to run on the field.
“I do not mean he has become a rah-rah guy. I don’t mean that when I say he has become more vocal. But more so, just being confident in himself and his command of the offense and his command of the guys who are around him. So, that is kind of more what I mean with his vocal leadership and his development.”
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!
Matt Bockhorst hasn’t been doing this cross-training thing long, but it’s been long enough for Clemson’s veteran offensive lineman to feel empathy for anyone who’s ever been in his shoes. “I would never downplay the difficulty of sliding from one …
Matt Bockhorst hasn’t been doing this cross-training thing long, but it’s been long enough for Clemson’s veteran offensive lineman to feel empathy for anyone who’s ever been in his shoes.
“I would never downplay the difficulty of sliding from one offensive line position to another or flipping from left tackle to right tackle,” Bockhorst said. “It happens in the pros and people think it’s just a seamless transition, and it’s simply not.”
Bockhorst’s more natural position is guard. The fifth-year senior started every game there last year and hadn’t repped anywhere along the offensive line much until this spring. That’s when Bockhorst entered the competition to replace the departed Cade Stewart at center, even if he’s not sure exactly what prompted the move at the time.
“That’s a great question honestly,” Bockhorst said. “For me personally, I think I try to be a very self-aware guy, and I know, from a projection-to-the-NFL perspective, that moving to center would be advantageous for a lot of reasons. I think there were conversations about that long ago, just having the ability to snap. Not necessarily to be the starting center but potentially getting film at center.
“Then it just became a conversation of who’s our best five (offensive linemen)? Who are we going to get on our field? And then it transitioned from, hey, this could be advantageous for me to this could be advantageous for the team. With that in mind, I kind of conducted myself this summer with that possibility so that when fall camp rolled around, I wasn’t taking my first snaps. So I’m not really sure how it really started off, but I knew that both sides thought it might be mutually beneficial.”
Playing center comes with a lot of more responsibility than is visible to the naked eye. There are checks to make and protections to call out based on what the defense is showing from one play to the next, but Bockhorst said the biggest adjustment has been getting used to having less space to operate with opposing defensive linemen sometimes lined up mere inches from him, which, for a first-time center, can affect the quality of the center-quarterback exchange.
Bockhorst said that’s especially true lining up against the interior of his own defensive line every day.
“When you’ve got Bryan Bresee breathing down your neck, it’s not very easy,” Bockhorst said. “It’s hard to replicate getting those type of reps when you have an elite player that’s a head-up nose (tackle) on you who’s got elite get-off as we all know,” Bockhorst said. “Doing that is different than coming out here, snapping and just talking a couple of steps.”
But after a summer and an entire fall camp to work on the intricacies of the position, Bockhorst said he’s far more comfortable with it. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said botched snaps were an issue at times during the Tigers’ first fall scrimmage but noted they were better the second time around.
“There’s some grace involved,” Bockhorst said. “Early on, (the coaches) are like, ‘Hey, we get it.’ But at this point, I’ve been perfect the past couple of days, so let’s keep it that way.”
There’s still a chance Bockhorst runs out at left guard for the Tigers’ first offensive snap against Georgia on Sept. 4, but there’s just as much of a chance that he slides over to center against the Bulldogs. But asked if he’s gotten more reps at center or guard in recent practices, Bockhorst wasn’t about to give anything away.
“I’m not much of a math guy,” he said with a smile.
Bockhorst said he and his primary competition for the center job, sophomores Mason Trotter and Hunter Rayburn, continue to split reps, so there still hasn’t been much separation there. At least, Bockhorst isn’t spilling the beans if there has.
“I’m really getting comfortable, and when I’m getting those reps (at center), I’m feeling pretty good,” Bockhorst said. “Obviously getting consistent with my snaps, that’s the big thing. So just kind of continually getting better. That’s what you want, but everybody’s kind of taking reps.”
Is he comfortable enough to start at his new position Week 1 against an opponent the caliber of Georgia?
“We’ll see what happens as far as the lineup goes, but I feel prepared. I’m confident,” Bockhorst said. “If we didn’t have this defensive front and these defensive packages to go up against every day, I don’t know if I would feel that way.
“If my number is called, then I’ll be ready.”
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!
Following last Saturday’s scrimmage, Dabo Swinney was not pleased with his offense’s performance when it came to the procedural items, such as false starts, offside and bad snaps. But the report was much better on Thursday, as third-ranked Clemson …
Following last Saturday’s scrimmage, Dabo Swinney was not pleased with his offense’s performance when it came to the procedural items, such as false starts, offside and bad snaps.
But the report was much better on Thursday, as third-ranked Clemson wrapped up its second and final scrimmage of the preseason at Death Valley.
“I think we went from ten penalties to two,” Swinney said afterwards. “We had no bad snaps (with the first or second team). We had a couple with our third group, our Pride Group. But the guys that we know that we have to count on to go play in a couple of weeks, they were excellent today.
“They were right on point and where they needed to be. It was good to see.”
Swinney says that is what he was looking for from his offense, especially on the offensive line. He wanted to see them improve.
“You get two scrimmages. I thought the guys that needed to improve, they did just that. The guys that we wanted to see some consistency from, I think we saw that as well,” the Tigers’ head coach said. “So, it was a good day. It was a much better day procedurally.
“The first scrimmage, we had ten penalties, a bunch of bad snaps. We had a couple of drops, and that was disappointing, but all-in-all, procedurally, it was very solid. It was much better.”
As for who might be the starter at center when the Tigers take on No. 5 Georgia on Sept. 4, it appears Swinney nor offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell are any closer to naming someone.
Swinney alluded to the fact they might not be able to name a starter until way into Georgia week.
“We will watch this tape tonight and then we will start honing into the personnel and how we want to rep,” he said. “Anything can happen. I mean it is two weeks from now. You still have to go practice. Nobody at this point is entitled to be the starter, you still have to go earn it every day.”
Swinney said Matt Bockhorst, who is expected to start at left guard, worked some at center in Thursday’s scrimmage, as did Hunter Rayburn and Mason Trotter. Earlier this week, Swinney said all three players are receiving first-team reps, but they are not ready to name a starter at this point.
“I think they have all done well,” he said. “Again, it is not something we are ready to roll out there. We will put a depth chart out here soon enough, but I have seen good things from all of them. I really have. Bockhorst has got a lot of work, the same thing with Trotter and the same thing with Rayburn, and Trent Howard, he has gotten some good work at center. He is a young freshman that we are excited about.
“So, all of those guys have gotten work and have done well in spots and not so well in spots, so we are still kind of working in that area.”
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!
After starting all 12 games at left guard a season ago, Matt Bockhorst could be sliding over this fall. The competition to replace the departed Cade Stewart at center is still ongoing as Clemson heads out of fall camp. Hunter Rayburn, Mason Trotter …
After starting all 12 games at left guard a season ago, Matt Bockhorst could be sliding over this fall.
The competition to replace the departed Cade Stewart at center is still ongoing as Clemson heads out of fall camp. Hunter Rayburn, Mason Trotter and others are still firmly in the mix, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said, but Bockhorst has gotten his share of first-team reps there and got what offensive coordinator Tony Elliott called “some good work” at center in the Tigers’ first scrimmage over the weekend.
So Bockhorst seemingly has as good a chance to win that job as anybody else, which begs the question: Should that happen, what will the Tigers do at left guard?
Sophomore Paul Tchio was listed as Bockhorst’s backup on Clemson’s pre-camp depth chart, so he’s certainly an option. But the Tigers have also spent a lot of time getting a true freshman ready just in case.
Marcus Tate, a four-star signee, has been getting first-team reps at left guard when Bockhorst has worked at center during periods of practice that have been open to the media. Swinney said Tate has also been getting some reps with the twos. Those are important reps that seem to indicate the Tigers are preparing the 6-foot-5, 290-pounder for significant game action after Tate arrived on campus in January as an early enrollee.
Tate, whom Swinney said has also repped some at tackle, is one of several offensive linemen Clemson is cross-training in an attempt to create more versatility up front. That includes Rayburn and Trotter, who could play guard if center doesn’t work out, Swinney said.
“There’s competition everywhere,” Swinney said.
The Tigers would be giving up some experience at that left guard spot if Bockhorst moves to center. Bockhorst, a fifth-year senior, has played 1,352 career snaps at Clemson. Tchio, Rayburn, Trotter and Tate have combined for 370.
Yet the depth on the line isn’t as green as it was this time last year. Throw in Walker Parks, who’s set to take over as the starting right tackle, and there were a handful of freshmen who used last season to get experience, which is paying off heading into their sophomore seasons.
“The good news is we’ve got more guys that can play for us,” Swinney said of the offensive line. “So I’m excited about that. We’re still a work in progress with two and half weeks here before our first game, but I think we’ve got a lot more guys that can go in and get the job done for us than we had at this time last year.”
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney provided an update on the competition at the center position following Tuesday’s practice. Swinney said after Saturday’s scrimmage that redshirt sophomore Mason Trotter, redshirt sophomore Hunter Rayburn and senior …
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney provided an update on the competition at the center position following Tuesday’s practice.
Swinney said after Saturday’s scrimmage that redshirt sophomore Mason Trotter, redshirt sophomore Hunter Rayburn and senior graduate Matt Bockhorst have all been sharing first-team reps during fall camp, and said after Tuesday’s practice that “all of them have done some good things.”
“The biggest thing is consistency,” he added. “I think all of them physically can get the job done, and I think all three mentally can get the job done. But consistency with our snaps, that’s the area we’ve got to make some strides in. You’ve got to be 100 percent, 99.99999 percent when it comes to the C-Q exchange. So, that’s an area that I think we’ve got to clean up as we really hone in coming out of camp here. But all those guys have done a good job.”
After Tuesday’s practice, Swinney also mentioned redshirt freshman Trent Howard, saying he has shown the most consistency as far as snapping the football.
“Trent Howard has done a really good job, really pleased with him,” Swinney said. “He’s probably the most consistent when it comes to just the C-Q exchange part.
“But I think mentally and physically we’ve got some guys that can get the job done, but still need a little more consistency there.”
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!
Clemson held its first scrimmage of preseason camp Saturday at the Poe Indoor Practice Facility, completing the Tigers’ ninth day. What have we learned about the 2021 Clemson Tigers through the first nine practices of camp? No surprise, the defense …
Clemson held its first scrimmage of preseason camp Saturday at the Poe Indoor Practice Facility, completing the Tigers’ ninth day. What have we learned about the 2021 Clemson Tigers through the first nine practices of camp?
No surprise, the defense is pretty darn good, especially the defensive line, while on offense the running back competition might be a three-man race.
During Saturday’s scrimmage, Lyn-J Dixon and Kobe Pace shared the bulk of the carries with the first team offense. But freshman running back Will Shipley also got some carries with the first group. With two days remaining in camp, it appears the Tigers are no close to solving who its starting running back will be than it was at the start of fall camp.
On the offensive line, Clemson felt pretty good about where it was at with its center position. For a third straight season, the Tigers will have a new center and coming out of the spring it appeared redshirt sophomore Hunter Rayburn had a strong hold of the position.
However, Rayburn has been inconsistent in camp so left guard Matt Bockhorst has slid over and cross trained at the position. Bockhorst started Saturday’s scrimmage at center. The redshirt senior shared first-team reps with Rayburn and Mason Trotter, according to head coach Dabo Swinney, during the two-hour scrimmage.
Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said Bockhorst got a lot of good work at center. If Bockhorst does win the starting center, freshman Marcus Tate might be the Tigers’ answer to start at left guard. He has been working with the first-team offense at left guard when Bockhorst has worked the center position.
As for the backup quarterback battle, the Clemson coaches have still not indicted when Taisun Phommachanh will return to full speed, but the redshirt sophomore looks closer than we once thought. Phommachanh did not participate in Saturday’s scrimmage, but during the first eight practices he participated in almost every drill, except live ones.
He is running well on his left Achilles, which he tore in the final minutes of the Spring Game on April 3.
As for the other quarterbacks, freshman Will Taylor has really shinned and had another good day in the scrimmage. Swinney also liked the way fellow freshman Billy Wiles played, saying he had a solid scrimmage.
But as of right now, the Tigers’ backup quarterback will likely be walk-on Hunter Helms.
“Hunter, he just looks like he’s been here for a year or so,” Swinney said. “He’s put a lot of work in, he knows our system.”
On defense, the story has been all about the defensive line. We all knew the D-Line would be the strength of the unit, especially with its starters. However, what has come out of the first nine practices is the depth of the line.
Guys like Tre Williams, Ruke Orhorhoro, Darnell Jefferies and Etinosa Reuben have all been singled out by Swinney and defensive coordinator Brent Venables at some point in camp, giving the Tigers solid depth at defensive tackle.
Clemson entered camp extremely deep at defensive end with Myles Murphy, Xavier Thomas, Justin Mascoll, K.J. Henry and Justin Foster all in the mix. But now, Swinney has singled out sophomore Kevin Swint, who moved over to defensive end from linebacker in the spring, as a guy who is making plays and is giving the Tigers another possible playmaker at the position.
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!
Less than three weeks remain before Clemson faces off against Georgia in what’s widely viewed as the marquee matchup in college football on Labor Day weekend, and the Tigers are still doing plenty of mixing and matching in their search for the right …
Less than three weeks remain before Clemson faces off against Georgia in what’s widely viewed as the marquee matchup in college football on Labor Day weekend, and the Tigers are still doing plenty of mixing and matching in their search for the right combination along the offensive line.
The position perhaps under the biggest microscope up front is center, where things still appear to be fluid.
Clemson has three starters on the offensive line back from last season in guards Matt Bockhorst and Will Putnam and Jordan McFadden, a preseason all-ACC selection who’s moving from right tackle to left to replace Cincinnati Bengals draft pick Jackson Carman. Walker Parks, who played in 11 games last season as a true freshman, has gotten most of the first-team reps at McFadden’s old spot during fall camp as the favorite to take over there, but who will end up taking over for the departed Cade Stewart in the middle of the line remains up in the air.
Saturday’s scrimmage, though, may have offered some clarity on where things stand in the competition.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Mason Trotter, Hunter Rayburn and Bockhorst are all continuing to share first-team reps during camp. Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, however, didn’t mention Rayburn when asked about how those reps were divvied up during the scrimmage.
Elliott said Trotter also rotated in but that Bockhorst got “some good work” at center during the scrimmage, which would create another vacancy up front if the Tigers ultimately decide to make Bockhorst their full-time center. During portions of practice that have been open to the media during camp, true freshman Marcus Tate has slid into the starting lineup at left guard when Bockhorst has worked at center, an indication of the direction Clemson might go there if that happens.
Swinney said the Tigers are still trying different combinations and cross-training some linemen at various spots in order to make the most informed decision not only on a center but also the collective group.
“Right now, we’re trying to find who’s the best five and getting the right combination,” Swinney said. “And then not just the best five but making sure we have the type of flexibility we need for three weeks from now.”
Bockhorst, a fifth-year senior who’s played 1,352 snaps during his time with the Tigers, is the most experienced contender for the job in terms of playing time, and Swinney said in the spring Bockhorst could “easily be our starter” if that means getting the best five offensive linemen on the field. Trotter played 147 snaps over nine games last season as a freshman while Rayburn has 97 career snaps to his name (true freshman Ryan Linthicum, a four-star recruit, hasn’t been getting first-team reps).
Rayburn, a 6-foot-4, 320-pound sophomore, drew praise from Swinney and his teammates throughout the spring to the point that he could’ve been viewed as the frontrunner for the job then, but Rayburn hasn’t been mentioned as often this fall. That might not mean much, but Swinney said he’s looking for consistency out of Rayburn and the others at a position on the line where being able to process things mentally is just as important as being able to handle them physically.
The top three contenders will have to start showing it sooner rather than later.
“You’ve got to go take (the job),” Swinney said. “Simple as that. Day in and day out. If you’re the best guy, you’ve got to prove it every day. We’ve got a lot of competition. Everybody wants to play, and everybody wants to be that guy.”
Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!
