The one thing about football is that the position groups are fairly rigid. Basketball players can play at the point guard one possession and, if they have the size, small forward the next. Same with soccer, hockey, and Lacrosse, to name a few (except for goalie/keeper, of course).
In football, an offensive lineman rarely makes a jump to a skill position or vice versa. However, cross-training within the position is becoming more popular. Defensive backs regularly train at corner, safety, and nickel; OL train at tackle, guard, center, and so on. Not only does it help players diversify their own talents, but it grants them a better understanding of the roles around them and how they fit together in the bigger picture.
The trick is having enough talent to do so without dipping in the quality of play, and Clemson has excelled at it, especially on the defensive line. During Dabo Swinney’s Media Outing, Clemson’s defensive run game coordinator, Nick Eason, commented on the subject. “That is the unique thing about choosing Clemson if you are a high school kid… We cross-train all of our defensive linemen to be able to play across the line, so Peter and a lot of our guys can play inside and outside,” said Eason.
Peter Woods is the player Eason is referring to. After losing Xavier Thomas and Justin Mascoll at defensive end, Woods, among others, will play some DE this season. “[Woods] is not the only one,” Eason said. “Payton Page can play outside and in, as well as Tre Williams, and as well as a lot of other defensive linemen that are big and athletic and can play inside and outside.”
The Tigers can cross-train at a high level because of how well they recruit the position. “I want athletic defensive linemen that can play across the line of scrimmage,” said Eason. “that is how we will kind of utilize [Woods]. That helps us anytime you can play multiple positions.”
Eason explained that defensive tackles moving outside will “be based on the opponent week-to-week,” so Woods will still have playing time on the inside. If Eason wanted, they could go a step forward and make decisions play-to-play. The possibilities[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media] are endless with enough creativity and talent.
