Clemson proved it is here to stay with its play in 2017
The season didn’t end the way Clemson hoped or expected it to, but the Tigers exceeded just about everyone’s preseason expectations and proved they are here to stay with their play during the 2017 season.
If Clemson was going to take a big step back, this was going to be the year.
Deshaun Watson and most of his talented playmakers from Clemson’s national title team were gone.
Ben Boulware, the heart of the Tigers’ defense was gone as well, and Clemson would have to rely on inexperienced players to make big plays at several positions.
Clemson’s quarterback, running back, tight end and two of its top three receivers were first-year starters in 2017, yet instead of taking a step back, Clemson entered the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 team in the country.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted it to. You’re never happy when you don’t win that last game,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said. “But at the end of the day, when you take a deep breath and you step back a little bit, this will be one of the best teams that we have had. I mean, this has been a remarkable team. It really has.”
Kelly Bryant was given the monumental task of replacing Watson and went from a surprise starter to excelling in some of the biggest games of the year.
Bryant starred in road wins against Louisville, Virginia Tech, N.C. State and South Carolina and led the Tigers to a 38-3 win against Miami in the ACC championship game.
The junior didn’t put up the passing number that Watson did, but he did account for 3,467 yards and 24 touchdowns while losing only one game in which he started and finished – against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
“It was a good season and we’re not going to let one bad night define us. We obviously didn’t play well, we didn’t have the right mindset, but that’s on us,” Clemson receiver Hunter Renfrow said. “As a program, I think we can learn a lot from it. I think you can take the good out of it and the season that we had. Third ACC Championship, and Kelly proved that he can get it done. Just a lot of confidence going into the spring for next season.”
Clemson has four senior starters, combined, on offense and defense and could lose a few other underclassmen to the NFL draft. Still, the Tigers return their entire running back corps, several young and talented receivers, and a number of impact defenders, including Dexter Lawrence, Tre Lamar and Trayvon Mullen.
“You look at what Kelly Bryant has done this year, his first year playing quarterback. We had a lot of young guys step up,” Swinney said. “It’s always about what is next. And we’re going to learn and grow and always get better. And my expectation is to be right back here next year, right back in the middle of it, right back in the thick of it. We have got a heck of a team coming back. We’re going to have a much more experienced team next year than we had this year. And they will be eager to get back to work.”
Clemson is also bringing in one of the top recruiting classes in the country.
Freshmen Xavier Thomas, Trevor Lawrence, KJ Henry, Jackson Carman, Derion Kendrick, Josh Belk and others could make an impact their first year on campus.
With Clemson’s staff, recruiting abilities and facilities, the Tigers should remain one of the top programs in the country for years to come and should continue to compete with Alabama for national titles.
“We will catch our breath, and we will get our perspective where it needs to be. And I will be excited to get back to work and start over, new journey, and, again, go see if we can finish a little better next year,” Swinney said. “Everybody talks about the trilogy and all of that like somebody is fixing to die or something, like the world is coming to an end. We will be back and so will they. We will have, probably, several more opportunities to hook it up with these guys, and we look forward to that.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2018 at 4:07 PM.