See which legends made the cut in our all-time Clemson football roster, starting with the offensive starters and backups.
A program with a long, rich history, Clemson has seen a lot of great teams with a lot of incredible talent over the years as the program has developed into a marquee name in college football.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Tigers have had some exceptional players who have helped Clemson achieve greatness. From the freshman who led his team to a national championship in Trevor Lawrence to Jerry Butler and “The Catch,” Clemson has seen some remarkable offensive talents come through the program.
Becoming a premier program more recently under current head coach Dabo Swinney, Clemson has seen many of the program’s best offensive talent suit up for the Tigers in the past couple of decades.
Wondering what an all-time Clemson roster would look like? We’ve got you covered! Clemson Wire and the rest of our College Wire sites recently put together our all-time program rosters.
Here’s a look at our choices for the offensive starters and backups on Clemson football’s all-time roster:
The New York Giants have claimed DB Nate Meadors off of waivers from the Cleveland Browns.
With a spot available on their 90-man roster, the New York Giants claimed defensive back Nate Meadors off of waivers from the Cleveland Browns on Thursday.
The 25-year-old Meadors originally signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA in 2019. After being released in September of 2020, he was quickly scooped up by the Jacksonville Jaguars and placed on their practice squad.
In 2021, Meadors had a cup of coffee with the Philadelphia Eagles before joining the Cleveland Browns. He remained with the Browns until being waived earlier this week.
The 5-foot-11, 194-pound Meadors has appeared in three NFL games and recorded two tackles.
In addition to claiming Meadors off of waivers, the Giants also held offensive tackle workouts on Thursday. Among those in attendance were Will Holden, Mitch Hyatt and Kyle Murphy.
As training camp approaches there wont be much discussion as to four of the five starting spots on the offensive line.
There isn’t much to discuss as to three of the five starting spots on the Dallas Cowboys offensive line. Tyron Smith, La’el Collins and Zach Martin are locked in and thanks to a shortened offseason, Connor Williams is likely a lock too barring a switch to a different position. The center position will require monitoring as there will be a battle between Joe Looney, Tyler Biadasz, and possibly Connor McGovern, who had 14 career starts at the position while at Penn State.
However the swing position at offensive tackle may be one of the more important camp battles across the entire roster. There is a chance one of the reserve offensive lineman on the team plays starting snaps at some point during the regular season especially with some of the nagging injuries Smith has dealt with. The Cowboys are young and experienced behind there two book end offensive tackles but they do have a former five-star recruit and two time National Champion who could be ready to fill in if need be, in second-year pro Mitch Hyatt.
Hyatt was signed by the Cowboys as a undrafted free-agent in 2019. He struggled throughout the preseason and was released on August 31, but was signed back to the practice squad on September 2. Hyatt was promoted to the 53 in December but did not see any game action.
After a stellar collegiate campaign, it was surprising to some Hyatt went without being selected, but his play strength was going to be an obvious impediment in making the transition to being a pro player. That was evident in his early time with Dallas, but the biggest question is whether the delayed offseason allowed him the proper opportunity to improve in the necessary areas to make an impression on Mike McCarthy, Joe Philbin and the new offensive coaching staff.
Early Days
Hyatt attended North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia where he was a five star offensive lineman prospect. He was named a U.S All American and was ranked the No. 2 recruit in Georgia and the No. 23-ranked player in the class.
Hyatt had a decorated career at the University of Clemson, wining two National Championships in the 2016 and 2018 seasons. He came out the gate strong as a freshman and was the first, first year freshman to start an opener at offensive tackle since 1944. Hyatt started 15 games that season and was named freshman all-american by Sporting News and USA Today while receiving third team All-ACC honors.
Much of the next three years was continued growth for the four-year starter and a two-time All American. He accumulated 3,754 snaps over 58 games, starting 57 of them. He holds the school record for career snaps from scrimmage and career starts.
Scouting Report
Dane Brugler, The Athletic
STRENGTHS:Coordinated shuffle to stay square to rushers…sets up quickly to maximize body position…leaks outside to occupy linebackers…assignment sound and accomplishes his mission…stubborn at the point of attack, using his grip strength to latch and stay engaged…adequate length rolls his hips at contact to reinforce his anchor…tough–minded approach was instilled in him at a young age…heightened awareness for the position…team captain and competes with an edge…durable and finished with 57 starts on his collegiate resume.
WEAKNESSES: Folds like a cheap suit once rushers reach his chest…average athleticism…doesn’t play with lower body twitch, struggling to recover vs. shifty rushers…tends to overset, opening inside rush lanes…plays short–armed in his pass sets…needs to eliminate the holding penalties…comes with core strength concerns, allowing rushers to rock him backward…doesn’t have the frame to maul in the run game…bad habit of leaving his feet as a blocker.
SUMMARY: A four-year starter at Clemson, Hyatt stepped in as the Tigers’ starting left tackle once Isaiah Battle unexpectedly left the team for the 2015 Supplemental Draft, becoming the first Clemson true freshman to start at tackle since 1944 (Phil Prince). Nicknamed “Mr. Dependable” by head coach Dabo Swinney, he leaves the program with the records for career snaps (3,754) and starts (57), missing only one start the last four seasons because he was late to a meeting. Hyatt is a smart,efficient mover, keeping his feet in sync with his upper body to mirror in his pass sets. He needs technique work to keep rushers from his body, lacking the functional strength to reset his anchor or sustain if his body position isn’t pristine. Overall, Hyatt relies more on angles, spacing and quicks than power and length to get the job done, which will create long-term problems at the next level, projecting as an NFL backup at tackle or guard.
Hyatt has a chance to win the swing tackle job in camp but he must have taken a clear step forward and show the coaches he has fixed some of the issues he dealt with last off season. He struggled significantly handling the strength of pro rushers when they were able to get inside his chest. He also must cleaning up his technique and footwork. Hyatt will be competing with veteran Cameron Erving, Brandon Knight and rookie Terence Steele as well as any unknown player from outside the organization.
Not winning the swing tackle job won’t be the end of his chances of making the game-day roster, though. The NFL has expanded those from 46 to 48 as long as one of the players is an offensive lineman. With practice squads deeper and the flexibility to move players up and down without risking them to other teams, there’s potential for Hyatt and any of the young pups to latch on.
The Cowboys made a handful of roster moves, and will have armfuls to make in the offseason. There’s a depth chart move they need to make.
There are two trains of thought as the Dallas Cowboys head into the final three weeks of the 2019 season. The first is that the Cowboys should blow everything up, lose out, and secure a top-15 pick in next year’s draft. The other is to win 2/3 games with one of those victories against the Eagles in Week 16 and host a playoff game. Arguments can be made for both because what is apparent is that the Cowboys have two completely different outcomes to their season, each on the opposite side of the spectrum.
The next three weeks will determine everything for the Cowboys. In a season where the NFC East has been about as bad as it can be in recent years, both the Cowboys and the Eagles are scrapping towards the finish line with sub-.500 records and in doing so casts a wide range where the teams will pick in next year’s draft. The Cowboys also did a bit of roster management, promoting Mitch Hyatt to the active roster while adding a track superstar to their practice squad. In addition, teams were notified of the salary cap for 2020 and the Cowboys look to be in great shape, no matter how the 2019 season concludes.
The Cowboys have performed some late-season roster churning, adding Cyril Grayson to the practice squad. Grayson has elite speed, running a 4.33 forty at LSU’s pro-day. He still has yet to see any action this year having spent time with the Colts, Saints, Bears, and Texans’ practice squad.
The depth of the Cowboys’ wide receiver corps took a hit Tuesday as Cedrick Wilson was placed on injured reserve. Wilson suffered a knee injury in Chicago. Wilson’s roster spot was filled by promoting Mitch Hyatt to the 53-man roster. Hyatt was a four-year starter for Clemson but has yet to see any regular-season action.
As we suggested in the article, it has been confirmed the move was made to protect him from another team trying to sign him to their 53-man roster.
Another team tried to sign Mitch Hyatt off the Cowboys practice squad, a source said, promoting today’s move to move him to active roster.
The Cowboys seem to have a tight end capable of making big plays, but he can’t get on the field because the club seems to prefer better blocking and veteran leadership out of the position. Is it wise?
The return of the veteran tight end has hindered Jarwin’s opportunity to get on the field. So far this season, Witten has played 76% of the Cowboys offensive snaps and caught 53 passes for 455 yards. This season, while playing just 37% of the team’s offensive snaps, Jarwin has caught 28 passes for 311 yards, an average of 11 yards per catch. Witten has a 5.6% drop rate while Jarwin has a 2.8% drop rate, Witten has a 2.6 YAC rate, Jarwin is at 4.4.
Given the 6-7 record of the 2019 Dallas Cowboys, it’s tumultuous to even think they still lead the division and are on the verge of hosting a playoff game. However, there is still a lot to determine over the next three weeks and The Athletic breaks down six different scenarios for the Cowboys that range from having them host a playoff game to potentially having a top-10 pick in next year’s draft.
NFL teams were made aware that the 2020 cap space would near approximately $197 million on Tuesday. This provides the Cowboys with a ton of flexibility as they will have almost $90 million in cap space this offseason. The team will need every penny as they sort out the long-term contracts for both Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper.
The Eagles mounted a furious rally against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. Zach Ertz caught the game-winning touchdown in overtime to secure the win and pull the Eagles to within a game of the Cowboys in the NFC East race. All things considered, it’s looking more likely that the division will come down to the Week 16 contest between the teams.
The Cowboys will either host a playoff game this year and pick anywhere from pick No. 21-No.32 or they will not make it to January football and could potentially pick as high as No. 8 or No.9. This is by virtue of their terrible 6-7 overall record as well as the terrible play of the Eagles. One thing is for certain is that these next three weeks will determine the future for not only the current regime but future ones as well.
