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A look at the Clempson depth chart

Kn[]_[]ckles3o5

Kn[]_[]ckles3o5

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Offense

QB – Trevor Lawrence is exceptional. He can be rattled under pressure on a play by play basis, like any QB, but he generally regains composure even when under fire throughout the game. He is a gunslinger so if the offense can get going and get us a two score lead we may be able to pressure him into making some mistakes but the expectation is he is going to get his and be difficult to contain for 4 quarters. Both Back ups are highly recruited and talented with difficult names to spell and/or pronounce. If for some reason we knock Lawrence out of the game they could come in and still make plays.

RB – Etienne is considered one of, if not the best back in FBS. Strong, fast, and elusive. If we can contain him we have a good chance to win this game. The back ups aren’t as scary but Dixon can be serviceable.


So with the two obvious stars out of the way what’s left?


WR – Amari Rodgers is the veteran playmaker on the outside for a relatively young group of elite recruits at WR. Cornell Powell is a Sr but the fact I don’t know who he is let’s you know he isn’t the guy we should have to worry about. Frank Ladson Jr was able to step up against Citadel but hasn’t shown a ton yet against P5 comp. We’ve struggled defending veteran WRs but we may be able to frustrate the mostly young group for Clemson. If we can put the clamps on Rodgers and the young WRs aren’t ready to step up we may be able to make life a little more difficult for Lawrence.

TE – Their starter is a serviceable player who can make catches and block but not a gamebreaker. As long as we don’t allow him to run free in the secondary unchecked he shouldn’t be a problem for us.

OL – There was some turnover at this position from last years team. Jr Jackson Carman is a 5 star LT and the best prospect on their line. RS JR Matt Brockhorst is a 4 star talent with experience at LG. RS SR Cade Stewart is a 3 star experienced Center. These three are the heart and soul of the line. On the right side we have SO Will Putnam, a solid 4 star at RG and RS SO Jordan McFadden a 3 star RT. I use star rankings here to lend some context to the players projected abilities but I haven’t broken down any film and don’t really know whether or not any of these kids are really good. The point being, to say Clemson has this mountain of an o line with unlimited elite recruits is just not true. Aside from Jackson their o line doesn’t look much different than ours on paper. Also important to note is they have zero experienced talent backing these guys up. We have a potential advantage here in this match up. If we win the game it will likely be because we exposed the right side and depth of Clemson’s o line as a weakness.



Defense

DL – The DL is the clear strength of this unit. All of their players were highly recruited out of High school. Multiple high 4 star and 5 star recruits. Nice mix of youth and experience. Too many names to discuss. Seek more detailed info about their games from our X’s and O’s guys on the board. They are going to be a handful.

LB – Much less intimidating names here. Skalski and Spector are 3 star veteran guys paired with a low 4 star RS SO Jones Jr. These guys are what Clemson likes at backer. Smart and gritty. Lashlee may have trouble fooling them but we may be able to out talent them with our skill. They lost elite swiss army knife Isaiah Simmons, that loss may prove to be a big deal for this Clemson defense against more talented offenses.

S – Lannden Zanders and Nolan Turner suit up at the S spot, neither are elite recruits. More glue guys holding down the center of the defense. We should be able to get behind these kids and make some plays. They simply don’t have the talent to recover if we get them off balance. Not much behind them either. If we had this safety room the whole fanbase would be trying to get our safety coach fired.

CB – Jr Derion Kendrick is a nice player and their best corner. SO Andrew Booth Jr was highly recruited but got toasted consistently against Wake. I’ll be watching him closely against Virginia to see if he has any juice. If UVA is able to abuse him Saturday then we may have a real advantage attacking his side of the field. Behind them you have a bunch of 4 star corners. I’m not sure who plays in the nickel spot but they have talent there. All I know is if Booth is the 2nd best they have and he gets lit up against UVA then they’ve missed on some evals. Here’s to hoping Booth aint got it because if I can see it you **** well know Lash is gonna be up his *** all night.



Specials

We are good they aren’t bad. They have playmakers so we can’t lose that battle but I’m not going into any details about what they got going on over there.



What to watch against UVA

Clemson on Offense

  • Does UVA get pressure on Lawrence? How and where does it come from? Does it affect him at all?
  • What WRs are making plays for them? Is it all Rodgers? How well are the young Wr playing overall against stiffer competition? Blocking? MEs?
  • Do they have anything behind Etienne that can hurt us? How about at TE?
Clemson on defense

  • Try not to let the DL scare you, do they show any weaknesses? Youth/inexperience?
  • How well are the LBs and S playing? Are they liabilities in coverage against speed? Is their an obvious lack of physical ability? Does the scheme and/or their Football IQ make up for it?
  • What is Andrew Booth Jr doing? Is he a liability in coverage? Do they have anybody to replace him with that can do better?
These are the things I will be looking at after watching some of what they have put on tape this season and going through their roster.
 
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Great write up. Look forward to checking them out leading up to the game. I would add that Ngata is probably their WR#1 with Ross injured. This Clemson teams looks to be a little less talented than the Clemson we are used to.

Relying on DL, Lawrence, and Etienne. That is plenty to win big, but they will need guys to emerge at other spots to be a championship contender.
 
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Their secondary and OL are the weakest units of their team thus far and that’s where they had the most turnover from a year ago. WR isn’t scaring many teams unless Ladson takes it to a new level but Lawrence makes them look better than they are.

Our LB play scares me against Etienne and Lawrence is gonna make big throws. I think the pace of our play neutralizes their DL a little (enough to make throws and get some yards) and I think Brevin/Mallory are the key pieces for us against them. If we can get some timely stops on D and maybe a turnover or 2 we could make it a game. Just how effectively can we be stopping Etienne? Our LBers would have to make a 180° improvement over the bye week to do that. Only way we beat them.
 
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Back in 92 we went to the Sugar Bowl against Alabama certain that we would win. We had a QB who had just won the Heisman. We had Donnell Bennett, Larry Jones, Stephen McGuire, Lamar Thomas, Horace Copeland, Kevin Williams, the Bermuda Triangle, and a roster full of NFL talent.

Alabama did not have more talent than us. They did have a game plan to handle us on both sides of the ball and it worked. On that 92 Alabama roster was a wide receiver with a whopping 4 catches for 48 yards for the year. His name was Dabo Swinney. Payback's a bytch.
 
What concerns me is that Clemson has been playing in high-profile games for a while now. They'll know how to prepare and will be emotionally and mentally ready for it. Us on the other hand, we have not played in these games (and when we have, we have not fared well in the last several years).

Clemson is good. They have arguably the best QB in the country. If they land a big punch or two early, do we fold and think we're not up for it or do we hang in there? I don't know. And that's the problem . . . we don't have any recent history of playing in these types of games.
 
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mjackson6 said:
Their secondary and OL are the weakest units of their team thus far and that’s where they had the most turnover from a year ago. WR isn’t scaring many teams unless Ladson takes it to a new level but Lawrence makes them look better than they are.

Our LB play scares me against Etienne and Lawrence is gonna make big throws. I think the pace of our play neutralizes their DL a little (enough to make throws and get some yards) and I think Brevin/Mallory are the key pieces for us against them. If we can get some timely stops on D and maybe a turnover or 2 we could make it a game. Just how effectively can we be stopping Etienne? Our LBers would have to make a 180° improvement over the bye week to do that. Only way we beat them.
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Etienne/Lawrence matchup against our LBs is a bad one. Both of those dudes can outrun virtually our entire back 7. The striker position is gonna be HUGE as it's the lone speed person we have in our front 7 alignment. We can't afford to lose gap integrity/take bad lanes on run plays b/c Etienne can house it on any play.

You make Lawrence make the throws - just like LSU did. I thought their OL was their weak spot when we lined up against them in the ACCCG some years back and boy was I wrong. I'm not underestimating their OL b/c their playcalling helps mitigate it.
 
AlexCane said:
What concerns me is that Clemson has been playing in high-profile games for a while now. They'll know how to prepare and will be emotionally and mentally ready for it. Us on the other hand, we have not played in these games (and when we have, we have not fared well in the last several years).

Clemson is good. They have arguably the best QB in the country. If they land a big punch or two early, do we fold and think we're not up for it or do we hang in there? I don't know. And that's the problem . . . we don't have any recent history of playing in these types of games.
Click to expand...
Thats where good leadership comes in, Our OC has been in the trenches, been in big games, Primetime, all over SEC, SEC championship, Championship games, etc.

King is a mature QB, we are also a more veteran team on defense also, mostly 3-4th year players.

But you are right, this is business as usual for Clemson. Trevor is transcendent at QB, makes throws multiple times again, nobody else can. Etienne is another player on another level who does things that 99% of players cant do. They have weapons that are young but super talented. Pressure will be on them. Our Dline has to live up to hype. This is game Phillips, Silvera, Roche can make some money. If Trevor stays clean and can just sit in pocket, not get rattled, long nite
 
AUcane said:
Etienne/Lawrence matchup against our LBs is a bad one. Both of those dudes can outrun virtually our entire back 7. The striker position is gonna be HUGE as it's the lone speed person we have in our front 7 alignment. We can't afford to lose gap integrity/take bad lanes on run plays b/c Etienne can house it on any play.

You make Lawrence make the throws - just like LSU did. I thought their OL was their weak spot when we lined up against them in the ACCCG some years back and boy was I wrong. I'm not underestimating their OL b/c their playcalling helps mitigate it.
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Oh ya their OL isn’t weak necessarily but it’s their weakest link along with secondary play. Those are also the 2 units that typically improve as the season goes along.

If we pass rush/delayed blitz ourselves out of position and 5 yards wide and past the QB the entire game we’ll get blasted. Would be a good time to take the foot off the gas and play sound gap integrity on D and focus on setting the edge then get a timely blitz here and there.
 
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Kn[]_[]ckles3o5 said:
Offense

QB – Trevor Lawrence is exceptional. He can be rattled under pressure on a play by play basis, like any QB, but he generally regains composure even when under fire throughout the game. He is a gunslinger so if the offense can get going and get us a two score lead we may be able to pressure him into making some mistakes but the expectation is he is going to get his and be difficult to contain for 4 quarters. Both Back ups are highly recruited and talented with difficult names to spell and/or pronounce. If for some reason we knock Lawrence out of the game they could come in and still make plays.

RB – Etienne is considered one of, if not the best back in FBS. Strong, fast, and elusive. If we can contain him we have a good chance to win this game. The back ups aren’t as scary but Dixon can be serviceable.


So with the two obvious stars out of the way what’s left?


WR – Amari Rodgers is the veteran playmaker on the outside for a relatively young group of elite recruits at WR. Cornell Powell is a Sr but the fact I don’t know who he is let’s you know he isn’t the guy we should have to worry about. Frank Ladson Jr was able to step up against Citadel but hasn’t shown a ton yet against P5 comp. We’ve struggled defending veteran WRs but we may be able to frustrate the mostly young group for Clemson. If we can put the clamps on Rodgers and the young WRs aren’t ready to step up we may be able to make life a little more difficult for Lawrence.

TE – Their starter is a serviceable player who can make catches and block but not a gamebreaker. As long as we don’t allow him to run free in the secondary unchecked he shouldn’t be a problem for us.

OL – There was some turnover at this position from last years team. Jr Jackson Carman is a 5 star LT and the best prospect on their line. RS JR Matt Brockhorst is a 4 star talent with experience at LG. RS SR Cade Stewart is a 3 star experienced Center. These three are the heart and soul of the line. On the right side we have SO Will Putnam, a solid 4 star at RG and RS SO Jordan McFadden a 3 star RT. I use star rankings here to lend some context to the players projected abilities but I haven’t broken down any film and don’t really know whether or not any of these kids are really good. The point being, to say Clemson has this mountain of an o line with unlimited elite recruits is just not true. Aside from Jackson their o line doesn’t look much different than ours on paper. Also important to note is they have zero experienced talent backing these guys up. We have a potential advantage here in this match up. If we win the game it will likely be because we exposed the right side and depth of Clemson’s o line as a weakness.



Defense

DL – The DL is the clear strength of this unit. All of their players were highly recruited out of High school. Multiple high 4 star and 5 star recruits. Nice mix of youth and experience. Too many names to discuss. Seek more detailed info about their games from our X’s and O’s guys on the board. They are going to be a handful.

LB – Much less intimidating names here. Skalski and Spector are 3 star veteran guys paired with a low 4 star RS SO Jones Jr. These guys are what Clemson likes at backer. Smart and gritty. Lashlee may have trouble fooling them but we may be able to out talent them with our skill. They lost elite swiss army knife Isaiah Simmons, that loss may prove to be a big deal for this Clemson defense against more talented offenses.

S – Lannden Zanders and Nolan Turner suit up at the S spot, neither are elite recruits. More glue guys holding down the center of the defense. We should be able to get behind these kids and make some plays. They simply don’t have the talent to recover if we get them off balance. Not much behind them either. If we had this safety room the whole fanbase would be trying to get our safety coach fired.

CB – Jr Derion Kendrick is a nice player and their best corner. SO Andrew Booth Jr was highly recruited but got toasted consistently against Wake. I’ll be watching him closely against Virginia to see if he has any juice. If UVA is able to abuse him Saturday then we may have a real advantage attacking his side of the field. Behind them you have a bunch of 4 star corners. I’m not sure who plays in the nickel spot but they have talent there. All I know is if Booth is the 2nd best they have and he gets lit up against UVA then they’ve missed on some evals. Here’s to hoping Booth aint got it because if I can see it you **** well know Lash is gonna be up his *** all night.



Specials

We are good they aren’t bad. They have playmakers so we can’t lose that battle but I’m not going into any details about what they got going on over there.



What to watch against UVA

Clemson on Offense

  • Does UVA get pressure on Lawrence? How and where does it come from? Does it affect him at all?
  • What WRs are making plays for them? Is it all Rodgers? How well are the young Wr playing overall against stiffer competition? Blocking? MEs?
  • Do they have anything behind Etienne that can hurt us? How about at TE?
Clemson on defense

  • Try not to let the DL scare you, do they show any weaknesses? Youth/inexperience?
  • How well are the LBs and S playing? Are they liabilities in coverage against speed? Is their an obvious lack of physical ability? Does the scheme and/or their Football IQ make up for it?
  • What is Andrew Booth Jr doing? Is he a liability in coverage? Do they have anybody to replace him with that can do better?
These are the things I will be looking at after watching some of what they have put on tape this season and going through their roster.
Click to expand...
I like what you stated here because you see the same things I've stated about that corner being suspect. I believe the pressure for us will come from the inside on left side. I personally know Bockhorst being from Cincy and my son friend. He doesn't have good lateral movement and gets beat alot. Carman also a Cincy kid has gotten bigger which hurts his movements also but has a great first punch.
 
Can’t sleep n Lawrence’s ability to run.
He ran for over 100 yards on 16 carries against Ohio state. Arguably the difference in that game besides the Shaun Wade ejection.
 
mjackson6 said:
Oh ya their OL isn’t weak necessarily but it’s their weakest link along with secondary play. Those are also the 2 units that typically improve as the season goes along.

If we pass rush/delayed blitz ourselves out of position and 5 yards wide and past the QB the entire game we’ll get blasted. Would be a good time to take the foot off the gas and play sound gap integrity on D and focus on setting the edge then get a timely blitz here and there.
Click to expand...

Agree. I think those classic Baker blitzes are gonna kill us if he uses them to liberally. Play sound defense to start and see if our front 4 can get some heat on Lawrence. I am not so sure how good their OL (particularly left side) are at pass pro. Carman is a monster and if he gets his hands on you, he mauls. Same for most of those guys. Will be interesting to see how they handle our quickness.

As for their defense, I've noticed they primarily use their front 4. They have super big time prospects on there (KJ Henry, et al) so our OL will have to step up. I feel much better about our OL this year.
 
Someone mentioned gap integrity. That concerns me. FSU had some decent plays with misdirection and took advantage of our aggressive, up-the-field defense. Clemson has a professional, multiple offense that can take advantage of that too.
 
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