How Clemson’s offensive line is shaping up under new coach Thomas Austin
Reggae was the vibe in Clemson’s offensive line room Friday.
Will Putnam was named “dog of the day,” which comes with the reward of controlling the aux cord.
“If you’re out here, you grade out the best, you’re moving guys off the ball, you’re getting knockdowns, stuff like that you get dog today,” Putnam explained, “and the dog of the day gets to have these privileges.”
The senior offensive guard said Friday night he has been on a reggae kick for about a week and chose the genre to play as part of his dog-of-the-day privileges. The superlative is one of the newer incentives under first-year offensive line coach Thomas Austin. The former Tiger (2005-08) and NFL offensive lineman was promoted from his previous position as an offensive analyst after longtime coach Robbie Caldwell retired.
From Austin’s perspective, Putnam was more than deserving of dog-of-the-day honor. The Florida native has switched over from right guard to center, making a smooth transition while taking first-team reps. Austin said Putnam only had one bad snap during Wednesday’s practice, which was too low, in 31 snaps played.
“One thing I’ll say about Will is, he can self-correct himself,” Austin said. “I think when guys make that transition, they don’t always know when they have a bad snap, and if they do where it goes, but he knows, hey, that was low. That was high. So, he’s doing a really good job.”
Much like almost every one of Clemson’s offensive linemen last year, Putnam didn’t play a whole season because of injuries. He tried to battle through a “black and blue” toe injury but ultimately ended up missing three games while starting in all 10 in which he did appear for 633 total offensive snaps. In the final two games of 2021, he didn’t give up a sack.
Despite some lingering injury issues — left tackle Jordan McFadden was in a yellow jersey this week and Mitchell Mayes, who was repping at right guard, is out with an elbow injury — Austin should have a generally healthy group looking to have a better showing in 2022 than last year. With McFadden and Mayes out, John Williams, who’s returning from an ACL tear, and Bryn Tucker have been working with the first team.
“We need more functional depth than we had last year,” Austin said. “And so that’s where that next group of guys has to really step up.”
One of those players who has stepped up is tackle Tristan Leigh, a former five-star recruit who only played 20 snaps in two games as a redshirt in his debut collegiate season. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney called Leigh a “big shot in the arm” for the team, and Austin referred to him as the most improved offensive lineman.
Despite being a top 25 offensive lineman in the country among the Class of 2021, the young Tiger had areas in which he needed to improve coming out of high school and was aware of them. His commitment to getting better left an impression on his new coach.
“Sometimes. you get a guy who’s really highly recruited like Tristan and you redshirt him, you know that some of those guys don’t respond well to that,” Austin said. “He had very high self-awareness. … He’s been playing left tackle for us, repping with that second group. He’s done a great job, he really has. Can’t say enough good things about Tristan.”
Putnam gave left guard Marcus Tate a vote for most improved, as well. The rising sophomore was an immediate starter, running out first against Georgia, S.C. State and Georgia Tech last year before being scaled back some.
Tate ended up making eight starts in 13 games played with 627 snaps.
“You’re gonna see a guy who’s gonna do phenomenal things both at guard and tackle because he’s cross-trained both,” Putnam said of his teammate. “I’m really excited to see what he’s doing. He’s making progress, and I think he has a really good mindset.”
While Austin brings a somewhat different style and perspective than Caldwell, cross-training is here to stay. Getting guys reps at different positions not only helps players potentially prepare for the next level, but it also helps the team to develop the depth the Tigers will need heading into the fall.
“You want to manage helping a guy settle in and learn that position and feel confident there but then also knowing that cross-training gives the team the best opportunities,” Austin said. “I think if you cross-train them too much, they can never really settle into the best, most natural position. So, it’s definitely a tightrope to walk.”
