7 observations from Clemson’s first preseason practice, including which QB stood out

Clemson football opened its preseason camp with a practice Friday evening, and the media was allowed to watch the first eight periods of the workout. Here are five observations from the media viewing portion of the practice:

1. First-team offense

There were no real surprises with the first-team offense during the tempo portion of the practice that we were allowed to see. As expected, Kelly Bryant was at quarterback with Travis Etienne at running back. Tee Higgins, Hunter Renfrow and Amari Rodgers were the three receivers. Milan Richard started at tight end, and from left to right the offensive line included Mitch Hyatt, John Simpson, Justin Falcinelli, Sean Pollard and Tremayne Anchrum. The two starting positions with an “or” listed on the preseason depth chart are Higgins or Trevion Thompson at receiver and Richard or Garrett Williams at tight end. Higgins and Richard got the nod on Friday. Williams and running back Adam Choice did work with the first-team unit for the second half of the drill.

2. Second-team offense

The second-team offense was led by Trevor Lawrence at quarterback with, Darien Rencher at running back. Diondre Overton, Cornell Powell and Trevion Thompson were the receivers, and they were joined by tight end Cannon Smith. The offensive line from left to right included Blake Vinson, Matt Bockhorst, Gage Cervenka, Cade Stewart and Chandler Reeves. Chase Brice took over for Lawrence during the second half of this drive.

3. Injuries

Running back Tavien Feaster and linebacker James Skalski were in yellow with minor injuries. They spent the open portion of the practice jogging laps around the field. Both players are expected to be full-go next week, according to Tigers coach Dabo Swinney.

4. The quarterbacks

All three quarterbacks had their good moments, but Lawrence was probably the most consistent. Bryant got off to a strong start with the short passes but overthrew four or five deep balls and was frustrated with himself after missing back-to-back deep throws near the end of the open period. Lawrence missed a couple of short throws but was very accurate with the intermediate and deep passes. He has more arm strength than the other two quarterbacks he is competing with, but as Renfrow noted after practice, you can throw with touch and less arm strength and still throw a very catchable ball. Chase Brice missed on a few passes but also made some nice throws and was consistent overall.

5. Linebacker group

The three starting linebackers were Tre Lamar at MIKE, Kendall Joseph at WILL and Isaiah Simmons at SAM. Joseph was listed as a starter at MIKE on the preseason depth chart with Lamar as his backup, but Brent Venables said at Swinney’s media golf outing that the depth chart should have been filled with “or” because he has a number of players capable of starting at each linebacker position.

6. Punt return

Renfrow, Rodgers, freshman receiver Derion Kendrick and Will Swinney took turns returning punts during the special teams portion of the workout.

7. Freshmen impressing

Kendrick looks very, very quick and gets out of his breaks in a hurry. He was compared to Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins during the spring, and he certainly is explosive. Running back Lyn-J Dixon has a quick first step and is also explosive. You can see why offensive coordinator Tony Elliott has compared him to former Tigers running back Andre Ellington. Receiver Justyn Ross certainly looks the part. He is 6-foot-4, 207 pounds and a player that Renfrow said was very impressive during the summer workouts.

This story was originally published August 4, 2018 at 8:24 AM.