Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008

Practice report: Tigers to weigh redshirts

News of the day

Clemson held its third stadium scrimmage Tuesday and — as was the case with the previous two — held out most of its veteran starters.

Quarterback Cullen Harper completed his first 10 passes and finished 12-of-14 for 116 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown to freshman tailback Andre Ellington.

But tailbacks James Davis and C.J. Spiller tallied three combined carries as the Tigers rotated their young backups.

Coaches will spend today deciding which freshmen they plan to redshirt and how the other backups will be incorporated into the game plan for next week’s opener against No. 24 Alabama.

“Some of them we still won’t know, some we might,” coach Tommy Bowden said. “I know we’ve got a lot of questions at safety right now and don’t have any answers, so that is one we might not be making.”

That does not bode well for junior Sadat Chambers and senior Haydrian Lewis, who have been attempting to hold down the second-string safety jobs ahead of freshmen Spencer Adams and Rashard Hall.

Stock rising

LB Jeremy Campbell. Campbell struggled in the past as a 230-pound linebacker asked to play in space at the strong-side position. But moving to the weak-side spot — which mans the short side of the field — has allowed Campbell to play with less hesitation and more physicality, thus narrowing the gap between him and starter Kavell Conner.

Stock falling

WR Xavier Dye. A sophomore slated to back up Aaron Kelly, Dye has picked up the offense and learned how to get open. But he has struggled the past week with catching, and it is not a good time to lose one’s confidence.

Quote of the day

“The mental state of mind wasn’t very sharp today. ... We didn’t think they handled (the expectations) good today. The biggest thing is upperclassmen creating a sense of urgency to merit the preseason ranking, and we didn’t show that today.”

— Bowden

Injury report

OL Mason Cloy sprained a knee but left the field on his own power and did not seem to be favoring the injury afterward. Reserve DT Rennie Moore (concussion) and CB Coty Sensabaugh (shoulder) are expected to return soon. Starting junior DE Kevin Alexander (leg infection) and freshman RB Jamie Harper (sprained ankle) sat out the scrimmage.

Up next

Fall classes start today, so the Tigers get the day off and will return to practice Thursday afternoon.

— Paul Strelow