Bryan Bresee, Will Taylor return as Clemson football holds first practice of 2022 camp
Clemson football camp is officially underway.
The Tigers held their first preseason practice on Friday afternoon ahead of their Sept. 5 season opener against Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Here are some quick observations from the first seven periods of practice, which were open to the media.
Offense
Starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei said he’s in the “best shape of his life,” and it showed. He weighed in at 234 pounds entering his junior year and looked noticeably trimmer. As for backup quarterback Cade Klubnik: he’s up from 185 to 197 pounds. Side by side, the 6-foot-4 Uiagalelei doesn’t exactly dwarf the 6-2 Klubnik now.
As expected, wide receiver Adam Randall wore a knee brace and yellow non-contact jersey and worked to the side as he recovers from a torn ACL in the spring. Clemson’s only other limited scholarship player Friday was receiver Troy Stellato (hamstring).
No surprises among Clemson’s offensive line during a fast-paced walk-through. Left tackle Jordan McFadden, left guard Marcus Tate, center Will Putnam and right tackle Will Parks trotted out with Uiagalelei. Bryn Tucker was the first-team left guard; he’ll be splitting those reps with Mitchell Mayes, per offensive line coach Thomas Austin.
Among others who saw reps in the aforementioned first-team drill: receivers Joseph Ngata, Beaux Collins and Brannon Spector and tight ends Davis Allen and Jake Briningstool (down from 235 to 227). Multiple running backs mixed in.
The Tigers sent out a second-team offensive line of left tackle Tristan Leigh, left guard John Williams, center Trent Howard, right guard Mitchell Mayes and right tackle Blake Miller with Klubnik.
Late in the media viewing period, Clemson ran most of its receivers through a bubble screen drill that ended with them toeing the sideline by tight ends coach Kyle Richardson before sprinting past an energetic head coach Dabo Swinney.
Defense
Defensive tackle and former No. 1 overall recruit Bryan Bresee is sporting a precautionary knee brace as a result of his fall 2021 ACL tear but was full go.
At 6-5 and 278 pounds, Myles Murphy towers over his fellow defensive ends. And fifth-year end Xavier Thomas looks great at 6-2 and 254 pounds. He recently hit his goal for 15% body fat, he said on Twitter; his previous low was 16.5% as a freshman.
Expect Barrett Carter to see a lot of snaps this year. The rangy 6-1 sophomore alternated reps with the linebacker and safety/nickel groups Friday. He’s among Clemson’s most versatile players on a defense that very much values it.
Cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. has a shot at significant snaps as a freshman. One of four top 100 recruits in Clemson’s 2022 class, he was fluid and fast in individual drills. Jeadyn Lukus, another freshman cornerback and former top 100 recruit, has put on muscle (185 pounds to 193).
Other
Freshman receiver and summer enrollee Antonio Williams, the No. 61 recruit in the class of 2022, worked punt return during special teams drills. Sophomore receiver Will Taylor, sophomore running back Will Shipley and Stellato were also in that group.
Defensive tackles coach Nick Eason won best outfit of the day among assistants for rocking a camo bucket hat, sunglasses and gray leg sleeves with his purple hoodie.
A few songs from Friday’s playlist: Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town,” Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust,” 2Pac and Dr. Dre’s “California Love” and Kanye West and T-Pain’s “Good Life.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2022 at 6:58 PM.
