Clemson football scrimmage report: What we learned after 10 days of preseason
Clemson held its first scrimmage of the preseason Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Closed to the media, the scrimmage capped off the Tigers’ first full week of fall camp, which included getting back redshirt junior wide receiver Justyn Ross. While he had to miss Saturday, Ross will have completed the required acclimatization period in time for the second scrimmage, set for Thursday.
Here are three things we’ve learned after 10 days and three lingering questions.
What we learned: Defense on point
Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney praised the defensive line following the scrimmage. He mentioned how the defense as a whole didn’t have any penalties, which is the first time he can remember that ever happening in a scrimmage.
“Really played with a lot of discipline today,” Swinney said. “Loved their effort. I didn’t see any drop-off, so that was very encouraging.”
Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Tre Williams stood out on the day. He only played two games last year after sustaining a season-ending injury. Swinney also mentioned redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro’s performance on the day.
“Everytime Ruke plays, he shows up,” Swinney said. “Good to see Tre get in there and make some plays.”
What we learned: More praise for Will Taylor
After complimenting the freshman quarterback earlier this week, Swinney was just as impressed with Will Taylor’s performance in the scrimmage as he was in practices. Both Taylor and fellow freshman signal caller walk-on Billy Wiles recorded snaps under center on Saturday.
“Will’s electric, man,” Swinney said. “He covers up problems. He fixes mistakes just because he’s so dynamic and so athletic, so just can’t help but notice him when he’s on the field. He creates a different dimension.”
Swinney added that Wiles completed two or three of five or six passes thrown.
“The biggest thing we’re evaluating these guys on is doing their job,” the Tigers’ mentor said. “We’re evaluating these guys not on their stats. We’re evaluating these guys on where they are from their fundamentals, their technique, their knowledge, their functionality.”
What we learned: Jaelyn Lay in action
During fall camp, one of the players Swinney couldn’t wait to see in a scrimmage was redshirt sophomore Jaelyn Lay. The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Tiger is the biggest tight end on the team and has used his size well during practices, often a head over anyone defending him.
“I want to see the tape and really lock in to where he was at the point of attack because we did have some little competitive situations,” Swinney said of the Georgia native. “He made a couple of plays in the passing game which was good to see. He’s just more confident in every aspect of his game, so this will be a key tape to get in there to evaluate and grade.”
One of those plays Lay made was a third-down catch.
“It was one-on-one and he had to win to make the play,” Elliott said. “He was able to do that, and so far, I’ve seen some flashes, right, that I know is in there and I’m going to get it out of him.”
Lay was listed as an option for the second-string tight end on the pre-fall camp depth chart.
In question: Starting center
Since fall camp has started, Swinney has insisted the Tigers will play the best five when it comes to the offensive line. When it comes to the starting center position, offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said senior Matt Bockhorst ran out first. Bockhorst was listed as the Tigers’ starting left guard on the pre-fall depth chart with redshirt sophomores Mason Trotter and Hunter Rayburn named as possible starters at center.
There’s still a chance for someone else to win the job, though. When it comes to Rayburn, the main thing will be to become more consistent.
“You’ve got to go take it,” Swinney said. “It’s as simple as that. Day-in and day-out. To be the best guy, you’ve got to prove it every day.”
In question: Running back reps
Much like the starting center position, the Tigers played multiple running backs with the first unit, which included senior Lyn-J Dixon, sophomore Kobe Pace and freshman Will Shipley. Freshman Phil Mafah repped with the second-string unit. At the same time, Swinney said the scrimmage had more to do with the players’ improvements more so than determining a starter.
“You’re not really game planning for Clemson. You’re trying to get ready for a season,” he explained, “so there’s certain aspects we wanted to work on today, trying to work on a couple of things in the passing game. Probably did not run the ball as much as sometimes we would in these scrimmages.”
Elliott complimented Pace’s efforts on the day but acknowledged the sophomore still needs to work on a few areas.
“He still needed to learn the entire package to be able to function in all the situations, especially from a protection standpoint,” the Tigers’ OC said. “We knew that it was there and we anticipated that he was going to be a guy that was going to push for that spot or whoever was in that lead spot.”
In question: Absent Tigers
Swinney mentioned the Tigers’ defense was full strength from a personnel standpoint, while there were a few players on offense who were banged up. Ross didn’t play due to the acclimation period, but wide receiver Beaux Collins was also out. The freshman has been battling with a shoulder injury throughout the fall camp and didn’t play in the scrimmage, but is expected to be back soon.
Joseph Ngata also didn’t play, though Swinney didn’t disclose why.
This story was originally published August 14, 2021 at 8:23 PM.
