Tag: Wes Durham

Clemson star calls in to Packer and Durham, updates rehab

A Clemson standout called in to the Packer and Durham show on ACC Network on Thursday. The Clemson basketball team’s leading scorer from the 2021-22 season, forward/center PJ Hall, phoned in to the show with Mark Packer and Wes Durham after hearing …

A Clemson standout called in to the Packer and Durham show on ACC Network on Thursday.

The Clemson basketball team’s leading scorer from the 2021-22 season, forward/center PJ Hall, phoned in to the show with Mark Packer and Wes Durham after hearing the news Wednesday that the program will be taken off the air at the end of this week.

“I heard the news and I had to call in and say what’s up, y’all,” Hall said.

“I know why you’re calling — you want to host the show now,” Packer joked. “I know how it goes.”

“I’ve put my application in,” Hall joked back.

“It’s going to be called ‘Hall and Durham,’ is what it’s now going to be called moving forward,” Packer said.

On a more serious note, during the call, Hall gave an update on his rehab following the foot surgery he underwent earlier this offseason.

As evidenced by multiple social media posts, Hall is out of the walking boot he initially wore after having surgery to repair a fracture in the fourth metatarsal of his left foot. He posted a story to his Instagram account in early June that showed the 6-foot-10, 240-pounder doing some simulated running for the first time since the operation in March.

“It’s feeling good. I’ve been sprinting a little bit, doing more rehab,” Hall said to Packer and Durham. “So, it was just a slow process to be able to get back up and doing more basketball stuff. Forever it was like you were on one foot, shooting one-foot hooks and barely walking around. So now that I’m running around more, I can jump. I’ve been doing semi-basketball workouts. So, it’s definitely coming along, but it was slow, for sure.”

Hall averaged a team-high 15.5 points despite dealing with painful flareups throughout last season, earning all-ACC honorable mention honors.

You can watch Hall’s call to Packer and Durham below:

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Analysts react to Clemson’s chances of winning Atlantic Division, ACC

On Thursday, ESPN released its preseason FPI (Football Power Index) rankings. According to the ESPN FPI, Clemson has by far the best chance to win the ACC this season at 58.7%, with defending conference champion Pittsburgh owning the second-best …

On Thursday, ESPN released its preseason FPI (Football Power Index) rankings.

According to the ESPN FPI, Clemson has by far the best chance to win the ACC this season at 58.7%, with defending conference champion Pittsburgh owning the second-best chances at 15.8% ahead of Miami (8.6%), North Carolina (6.0%), Wake Forest (3.1%) and NC State (3.0%).

The Tigers also have a whopping 74.7% chance to win the ACC Atlantic Division, according to the ESPN FPI, which gives Wake Forest a 7.7% chance to claim the division title and NC State a 7.0% chance to come out on top in the division, followed by Florida State (6.3%), Louisville (3.4%), Boston College (0.7%) and Syracuse (0.2%).

OnĀ Packer and DurhamĀ on ACC Network, Mark Packer and Wes Durham reacted to the FPI preseason projections and gave their thoughts on the Tigers being the heavy favorites to win the Atlantic and ACC title.

You can check out their commentary in the following videos:

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Packer on ‘million-dollar question’ at Clemson, stretch of games that will determine its 2022 season

On the Packer and Durham show this week on ACC Network, Mark Packer and Wes Durham weighed in on Clemson’s 2022 schedule, which was released Monday. Durham pointed to the conclusion of Clemson’s 2022 campaign – the three consecutive home games …

On the Packer and DurhamĀ show this week on ACC Network, Mark Packer and Wes Durham weighed in on Clemson’s 2022 schedule, which was released Monday.

Durham pointed to the conclusion of Clemson’s 2022 campaign — the three consecutive home games against Louisville, Miami and South Carolina to end the regular season — as what jumps out to him about the Tigers’ 2022 slate.

It will represent Clemson’s first time ending a regular season with three consecutive home games since 2012, when the Tigers hosted Maryland, NC State and South Carolina to end the regular season.

“The thing that pops off the page about Clemson’s schedule is the three home games in a row to finish at the end,” Durham said. “It’s been a while, Pack, since that’s happened.”

Packer, though, has a different perspective about Clemson’s schedule next season. He is circling the stretch of four straight games at Wake Forest (Sept. 24), vs. NC State (Oct. 1), at Boston College (Oct. 8) and at Florida State (Oct. 15).

Packer believes Clemson must figure out its quarterback situation with rising junior D.J. Uiagalelei and five-star freshman Cade Klubnik prior to that stretch of games, which he thinks will go a long way toward determining what type of season the Tigers have.

“It doesn’t pop at me, Wes. You’ve got a different view than I do,” he said. “I think this. To me — I could be a thousand-percent wrong — the million-dollar question at Clemson is what happens at quarterback, right. D.J. Uiagalelei, does he improve? Does the Klubnik kid come in from Texas and just steal the thunder? I don’t know how that’s going to play out.

“Clemson better figure out the quarterback answer, though, early, because I think the stretch of four consecutive at Wake, the showdown with NC State, at BC, at Florida State — that’s four consecutive weeks, three on the road, and it’s early — to me, determines what the Tigers are all about.”

Packer added that the Tigers will “be a problem” at Death Valley if they’re undefeated at home heading into the month of November with those three straight home games to end the season.

“They get through the middle of that schedule, and if they’re still rocking and rolling, I think they take their chances at Notre Dame and they welcome everybody to Death Valley,” he said. “I mean, listen — if we get to November and the Tigers still haven’t been beaten at home and they cruise away and find a way through the mines there, they’ll be a problem in November in Death Valley.”

Durham pointed out that next season will mark the first time since 2006, and just the second time since 1996, that the Tigers will have only one road game after Oct. 15 — the date at Notre Dame on Nov. 5.

Clemson enters the 2022 season with a 34-game win streak at home — a school record for both the longest home winning streak and longest home unbeaten streak in school history (as well as the nationā€™s longest active home winning streak).

“How many in a row have they won at home? 300 in a row?” Packer quipped. “Good luck with that.”

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ACC analysts discuss which former Tiger would be the best addition to Clemson’s staff

On the Packer and Durham show on the ACC Network this week, Mark Packer and Wes Durham discussed which former ACC football players would be the best additions to the coaching staffs at their alma maters. When thinking about Clemson, their choice was …

On theĀ Packer and DurhamĀ show on the ACC Network this week, Mark Packer and Wes Durham discussed which former ACC football players would be the best additions to the coaching staffs at their alma maters.

When thinking about Clemson, their choice was a no-brainer — 2021 first-team All-ACC selection James Skalski, a two-year team captain who completed his decorated six-year career as a linebacker (2016-21) credited with 310 career tackles (20.5 tackles for loss), 10.0 sacks, 12 pass breakups, two fumble recoveries (including one he returned 17 yards for a touchdown) and a forced fumble in 1,920 snaps over 69 games (38 starts).

Check out the following dialogue from Packer and Durham about Skalski and why they think the five-time ACC Champion and two-time national champ would be a great coach:

Durham: ā€œThis guyā€™s gonna coach. I keep waiting to see, somehow, heā€™s involved for next year.ā€

Packer: ā€œHeā€™s going to be a coach.ā€

Durham: ā€œHeā€™s gonna be. He was a coach last spring.ā€

Packer: ā€œHe was a coach in his last game after he got hurt at halftime of the Cheez-It Bowl.ā€

Durham: ā€œThis is like the easiest one of all time.ā€

Packer: ā€œJames Skalski at Clemson, gotta be on the list. Has to be.ā€

Durham: ā€œI just envision Skalski with a get-back coach. Thatā€™s the thing. Because (Brent) Venables… Skalski and those guys, Baylon Spector and that crowd, they used to laugh at Venables with the get-back coach, right. Well, see, I envision Skalski with a get-back coach, and Skalski and the get-back coach getting into it on the sideline because of how fired up heā€™ll be. And I told Dabo this last year, and I said this to Skalski when Roddy (Jones) and I did the spring game ā€“ I think heā€™ll be a terffic coach. I think heā€™ll be a terrific coach, because it means something to him.ā€

Packer: ā€œTrue passion.ā€

Durham: ā€œAnd heā€™s been to the top of the mountain. He knows what the price is you have to pay.ā€

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ACC analysts weigh in on Clemson’s ‘home run hire’ of Eason

On Friday, head coach Dabo Swinney and Clemson Football announced that Nick Eason has been named defensive run game coordinator/defensive tackles coach. The hire was officially approved by the Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation …

On Friday, head coach Dabo Swinney and Clemson Football announced that Nick Eason has been named defensive run game coordinator/defensive tackles coach. The hire was officially approved by the Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation Committee on Friday morning.

A veteran of 17 combined NFL seasons as a player and coach, Eason will join defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall to give Clemsonā€™s talented defensive line group the guidance of a coaching duo with 26 combined seasons of NFL experience.

On theĀ Packer and DurhamĀ show on ACC Network, Mark Packer and Wes Durham gave some thoughts on Clemson’s hire of Eason, a four-year letterman for the Tigers from 1999-2002 whose playing career included 117 NFL games over 10 seasons from 2003-12 with the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals.

“This guy was a monster as a player,” Durham said. “Suffice it to say, if they play like he played, it’s over up front. Holy cow.”

Eason transitioned to coaching in 2013 as a coaching intern for the Cleveland Browns, for whom he had previously played three seasons from 2004-06. In 2014, he was hired by the Tennessee Titans and helped oversee Tennesseeā€™s transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 front. He spent two seasons as an assistant defensive line coach from 2014-15 before becoming the Titansā€™ defensive line coach in 2016-17, helping defensive tackle Jurrell Casey to the first three of his five career Pro Bowl selections to date in those four years.

From 2019-20, Eason served as defensive line coach for the Cincinnati Bengals. In his first season, Eason led significant improvement in the Bengalsā€™ defensive line as the season progressed, notching an 11-sack improvement and an 84.1-yard reduction in yards per game in the second half of the season. Under Easonā€™s guidance, defensive tackle Geno Atkins earned his eighth Pro Bowl selection.

Most recently, Eason served as defensive line coach at Auburn, helping the Tigers to their largest sack total since 2018 in his first season. Auburn allowed the third-fewest yards per carry in the SEC and finished fourth in the conference in tackles for loss in his debut campaign on the Plains.

Packer believes Swinney and the Tigers hit it out of the park by bringing Eason aboard their coaching staff as the replacement for Todd Bates, who spent the last five seasons as Clemson’s defensive tackles coach before recently leaving to join Brent Venablesā€™ staff at Oklahoma.

“I think it took Dabo Swinney six minutes to make this phone call… I think this is a great hire, for a lot of reasons,” Packer said. “I think one of the things Dabo wanted was a guy with NFL experience. He played in the NFL for 10 years. He knows Clemson. Of course, he was at Auburn last year, for getting into the college coaching ranks. Todd Bates has moved on to Oklahoma. But I think everybody within the Clemson circle thought this was a absolute home run hire.”

In spite of all the injuries Clemson endured on the defensive side of the ball in 2021, the Tigers still managed to rank second nationally behind only Georgia in scoring defense (14.8 points per game allowed) and eighth in the country in total defense (305.5 yards per game allowed).

Packer thinks with better health, the Tigers’ defense could be even nastier next season, and says that’s a positive for Eason as he joins the staff.

“Here’s the good news for Nick Eason,” Packer said. “When you realize what Clemson lost as far as injuries go and yet that defense was still pulverizing people — defensively next year, knock on wood that they stay healthy, that is going to be one talented group on the defensive side. They were really good this year. They have a chance to be spectacular in ’22.”

–Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story

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ACC analyst bullish on Clemson heading into 2022 season

On the Packer and Durham show on ACC Network this week, Mark Packer and Wes Durham discussed which ACC teams they believe have the most reason for optimism heading into the 2022 season. Durham posed the following question to Packer – if he had to …

On the Packer and Durham show on ACC Network this week, Mark Packer and Wes Durham discussed which ACC teams they believe have the most reason for optimism heading into the 2022 season.

Durham posed the following question to Packer — if he had to pick a winner for the Atlantic and Coastal divisions, right now, who would he pick?

“I would go Clemson in the Atlantic,” Packer said. “I’m going to go Miami in the Coastal.”

Durham then asked Packer if it’s fair to say that while the Tigers showed enough in their Cheez-It Bowl win over Iowa State to get excited about where they are defensively entering next season, they still have “this outlier there with the quarterback spot.”

“Yeah, but I will tell you this — I think at the end of the year, I think Clemson was playing better than anybody in the league,” Packer said.

Durham agreed with Packer’s pick of Clemson as the 2022 Atlantic Division champion to a certain extent, but added, “I’m going to hold just a couple of edges on the Clemson pick here for a spot with Wake and for a spot with potentially NC State.”

“Because I think NC State is bringing back a lot, a whole lot,” Durham explained. “But I want to see what it looks like on paper before I commit fully to the Wolfpack here.”

Still, Durham is high on NC State, which went 9-3 (6-2 ACC) in 2021 and finished second in the Atlantic behind Wake Forest (11-3, 7-1).

“Wake’s going to lose some people in the offensive line, they’re going to lose some pieces on defense,” Durham said. “But this crowd (at NC State) right here, now… (Running back) Bam Knight’s going to go to the NFL. Got it. (Wide receiver) Thayer Thomas is back, (quarterback) Devin Leary’s back. I know they lost (Ikem) Ekwonu on the offensive line, but (Grant) Gibson I think is coming back. Defensively, they’re bringing back all the tacklers.

“I mean, it just seems like there’s a lot more on the table in Raleigh right now than people realize. And as you said — and I believe you’re exactly right on this — the biggest loss for NC State not playing the Holiday Bowl is that people nationally didn’t get to see just how talented they were this year, because I think a lot of that talent carries over to ’22. So, I’m going to give you Clemson, yes. But I’m going to hold edges for both NC State and possibly Wake Forest.”

Packer pointed out that NC State, which edged Clemson in double-overtime in Raleigh in September, has to play at Death Valley in 2022.

The Wolfpack haven’t beaten Clemson at Death Valley since 2002.

“Number one, NC State’s at Clemson next year in The Valley. That’s a problem. That’s been a problem,” Packer said.

Packer also believes Boston College should be mentioned as a contender for the Atlantic crown in 2022.

“If you don’t put Boston College in the conversation in the Atlantic, I think you’re making a mistake,” he said. “I think the fact that (quarterback Phil) Jurkovec is back, (wide receiver) Zay Flowers is back, Jeff Hafley’s recruiting extremely well, he’s a defensive-minded coach… Again, we don’t know what the schedules look like and when you play. But anybody that’s got to go to Boston late October, November, that’ll be a nice chilly road trip.”

Packer is excited to see how the Atlantic Division unfolds next season with what he believes will be a four-team race between Clemson, NC State, Wake Forest and Boston College.

But Packer is bullish on the Tigers heading into 2022.

“Clemson, again, I think that quarterback competition’s going to be real,” he said. “People don’t have any idea what they went through injury wise, and they still won 10 games. They’re going to get rebooted and healthy and they’re going to be a joke, how good they’re going to be.

“I think the Atlantic race is going to be a blast… I think the top half of the Atlantic next year with Boston College, Wake Forest, NC State, Clemson will be thoroughly, thoroughly entertaining.”

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Analysts weigh in on Clemson having no opt-outs for Cheez-It Bowl

During a press conference on Sunday, Clemson super senior linebacker James Skalski explained why the Tigers didn’t have any players opt out of their Cheez-It Bowl matchup against Iowa State on Wednesday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. “We …

During a press conference on Sunday, Clemson super senior linebacker James Skalski explained why the Tigers didn’t have any players opt out of their Cheez-It Bowl matchup against Iowa State on Wednesday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

ā€œWe get to play football,ā€ Skalski said. ā€œYeah, weā€™ve been to the playoffs and on bigger stages, but to us, we get to go play a game again. We get a chance to go represent Clemson and show everyone what we can do, including ourselves. I think we all just love playing ball, and we love being together.ā€

On Monday, during the Packer and Durham show on the ACC Network, co-hosts Mark Packer and Wes Durham discussed Skalski’s comments and weighed in on Clemson having no opt-outs for the Cheez-It Bowl.

Durham: “Another positive from the weekend — no Clemson opt outs for the Cheez-It Game later this week in Orlando. That’s the surprising piece for a program like this, Pack. Because programs that didn’t have nearly the success Clemson’s had the last four or five years, you’d think, OK, they’re going to quote ‘a regular bowl game,’ maybe the Tigers wouldn’t be interested. Not the case. Not the case at all.”

Packer: “That’s what Skalski was talking about — the culture of this program that Dabo has built, these dudes want to play ball. So, to me, that is a sign. When you’re used to playing in the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl — when you’re one of those dudes, all of a sudden they say, ‘Hey, you’re going to the Cheez-It Bowl.’ The natural response would’ve been, ‘Ah, who wants to go to the Cheez-It Bowl?’ Not these dudes. They want to play football.”

Mark Packer sees opportunity for Wolfpack to ‘pull off the surprise’ against Tigers

During Friday’s edition of the Packer and Durham show on the ACC Network, co-hosts Mark Packer and Wes Durham discussed Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game between ninth-ranked Clemson and NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. “Clemson, by the …

During Friday’s edition of the Packer and Durham show on the ACC Network, co-hosts Mark Packer and Wes Durham discussed Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game between ninth-ranked Clemson and NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.

“Clemson, by the way, has won 36 consecutive games against unranked teams,” Packer said. “That is the second-longest streak in the country behind Alabama, who by the way has won 99 in a row against unranked teams, which is an amazing stat. Incredible.”

Durham expects the Wolfpack faithful to create a raucous environment for the matchup between the ACC Atlantic Division foes.

“Clemson-NC State, the one thing you know Dabo’s talked to his team about, and he mentioned it with you,” Durham said to Packer. “The environment at Carter-Finley tomorrow should be spectacular for the Wolfpack and Tigers, and Clemson knows they’ll get it all day from the Wolfpack partisans, for sure.”

If there is going to be chaos in the Atlantic Division this year, as opposed to just the annual Coastal Division chaos, Packer believes NC State has to be the one to shake things up in the Atlantic by beating Clemson on Saturday.

The Tigers enter the game as a 10-point favorite.

“Tremendous game,” Packer said. “As we talked about, the crazy Coastal all the time. The crazy Coastal. You never can figure it out. Clemson basically has dominated the Atlantic. It’s been a Clemson-Florida State thing for over a decade. But it takes one game, one game only, to all of a sudden knock the whole craziness back over to the Atlantic side.

“And I’ve told you before, Wes, I think it’s this game. If it’s going to be crazy in the Atlantic, NC State has to beat Clemson. And I know that the Wolfpack nation is sick and tired — 15 of 16, eight in a row. There have been a couple close calls in the past. Clemson’s always seemed to have their number. But with that offense struggling, there could be an opportunity for NC State to pull off the surprise tomorrow as a double-digit underdog.”

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