Post Game Recap: Clemson

I don’t think OJ is coming back this season tbh.

Assuming you mean XL & Slime.

RCB - EOC/ Ryan Mack
NCB - Fitzgerald/ Dylan Day
LCB - Lucas/ Ja'Boree Antoine

EOC played LCB for most of the Clemson game, but he's been a Lockdown Corner at Right-side.

Ryan Mack being a hybrid CB/Safety allows for a little more flexibility on the outside where we can put Fitz at Nickel & solve the Nickel coverage issue we have with Thornton.
Where do you think long term is best spot for Dunnigan? I'm not going to dog a freshmen in coverage I know he has struggled, but he was some serious speed. My gut tells me he is a single high at some point.
 
Why do you think we went with Poyser at NCB last game and Omar/Day back deep? The first snap, Omar was the deepest man on the field and 7 was in the slot then shifted down to rush off the edge like we do our NCBs every snap basically. The whole first series was this, Poyser was pretty much in the box.

I assumed it was just a matchup thing? but 0 playing deep so much made me uneasy…
To mix up the personnel in the coverage looks.

We Blitz Omar on nearly every Defensive snap, so it's smart for Heatherman to mix it up & switch the guys who he's sending on delayed angle Blitzes. It would be a huge coverage bust if a team were to time up our Nickel Blitz & run a TE or a Slot right behind in the spot where he’s coming from with the Z on the Backside running a Clearout overtop across the hashes.

Also, we pretty much had their plays sequences mapped out. From film study, it was clear what Clemson first script drive was going to be.
- Screen
- QB run
- Comeback route

We disrupted their first 3 possessions & held them to just a FG because they couldn't move the ball on the Outside. Everything was short left/ short right Screen, or Button hook.

We won't see too many instances where Thornton is playing Deep 3rd, but in the times when we do, it's 100% a run play where he’s been put there on close out duty.
 
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This is a what 2024 was supposed to be, but we weren't built for Can Ward and that offense yet, hence the quick and big portal moves we saw post Ward to get pass rushers, just had bigger holes elsewhere...
 
View attachment 375290

Offense:
View attachment 375291

First drive on Offense, Rodriguez great seal block & 58 with great Blocks to help spring Barkate on the screen for 61yd TD.

View attachment 375303

2nd drive was Methodical
- Screen to Fletch
- Screen to Lofton
- Comeback to Upshaw
- Screen to Toney
- Crossing route to Barkate

But lead to a Mensah Sack.

View attachment 375296

What I've noticed thus far all season, is that the Offense operates at its best when they're striking fast & attacking with more defined concepts. The ball comes out quick & the WR's are able to make plays after the catch. I find that when tempo gets slowed down, the offensive efficiency grinds to a screeching halt & that's when we have fissures in the protection schemes, which allows for opposing Defenses to create pressure & get to Mensah.

McCoy got worked really bad on that Sack he gave up. Obviously, he's hurt & was toughening it out to come back in the game, but playing injured as an OL is actually a detriment to Mensah & the Offense in general. It's up to Mirabal & Mario to not let those guys go out there when they're hurt. I know toughness is Law, but there's a line of demarcation where Tuff blends into stupidity. Don't play hurt lineman, they put our QB at risk.



Phenomenal 3rd down catch by Toney.
Mensah laces a straight bullet under heavy duress, he gets absolutely walloped but delivered a great pass.

View attachment 375300

View attachment 375301

Ashton Hampton solidified himself as a top 15 pick in the draft & the best CB in country. As an Outside Field Corner, he actually followed Toney & played him in the Slot. That's not something that Ashton had done thus far in his career & the fact he stepped up & accepted the challenge against one of the best WR's in the Nation was huge for him. That was a big time matchup for him & he answered the call for the most part. Unfortunately, he plays for a really sh*tty team, but nonetheless, he made himself a lot of money this game, salute to him.


View attachment 375339


Terrific Backshoulder to Barkate

View attachment 375305

He had a very good game & played great in his role as a Downfield playmaker.


I thought Elijah Lofton played his best game as a Hurricane against Wake, until this Clemson game. He was physical after the catch with his strong low center of gravity style running being able to lower his shoulder & deliver a punishing hit at the end of runs. He's also a good blocker at the point of attack. He's not a prototype TE, due to lack of ideal size & raw athletic ability, but he is a Kyle Juszczyk FB/TE2 type & he'll likely have have a place in the league playing in the role as a dirty work H-back guy. Obviously he'll come back next year, but I would be shocked if when it's his time to declare that he gets anything higher than a 4th round grade.

Mallory established himself as the starter next year. With ChaMar Brown coming back & Ty Keyes coming in, it doesn't look too great for Pringle. If he ever wants to be a feature back, he'll probably have to Portal.

The WR group looks like the brightest spot on the Offense in the future. As long as we can keep everybody, we have a very solid nucleus to build with for next year.

Coming into this week I felt we needed to invest heavily this offseason in OL if for nothing more than depth purposes. The Clemson game didn't change that for me, it reinforced it.

I thought the line played very well, especially Rodriguez, played absolutely outstanding considering his inconsistency throughout the year. Congdon & Buchanan played very well IMO.


My biggest takeaway from the game & the season thus far is that Offensively we're among the best in the Nation in explosive plays. We're 6th in the all of CFB in plays 20 yards or more, while averaging 9.6yds per pass & 8.21yds per play, which is 1st in the Nation. It's basically the 2024 Offense on steroids, the key difference is, it's a lot less boom or bust, in that this version of the Offense is less reliant on the QB to do all the heavy lifting & is far more versatile with better playmakers at WR.

View attachment 375293

Defense:

View attachment 375292

Chase Smith played his best game as a Hurricane. He was all over the field & was queued in on all of his reads.

He had an excellent play on a 4th & 1 stop where he Blasted through the C-Gap & blew up the play in the backfield to get a TFL & turnover on downs. He had a stellar performance.

View attachment 375299



Toure with the Hitstick!

View attachment 375298

Lightfoot absolutely DEMOLISHES Clemson OG.

View attachment 375294

Derailed their drive momentum & put them at 3rd & 13, which lead to fantastic Press Man coverage by Ryan Mack.

- Great footwork off the release to Outside leverage
- Backpedal into open & the immediately flipped into Phase
- Got his head to track the ball
- Closed the distance pressing towards the inside shoulder to get Chest to Chest
- Then made a great transition to the outside shoulder to make a play on the ball to get the PD.

View attachment 375295



Jarquez Carter played early & played well. He provided great depth in the run game & was active as a pass rusher.

Moten had some really good pressure on the interior & was major part in why we suffocated them in the run game. He was giving Clemson's interior line fits all game

View attachment 375306
Also forced the fumble on Tait

View attachment 375307


Heck of a tackle by Poyser on the Quick out to the TE early in the 1st quarter. Probably the best open field tackle I've seen him make.

Thornton & Wilson with the pressure, Scroggins gets the sack.

View attachment 375308


Defensive line created an immense amount of pressure. 9TFL's & 6 sacks. This was the DLines best performance of the season. There was a lot of worry about the DLine all year, but IMO they're far more deep & multifaceted with pass rushers & run stoppers. We go legitimately 10 deep on the front, where we genuinely have guys who would be full time starters as our backups. Jason Taylor, Damione Lewis & Heatherman have done a terrific job in cultivating a hyperaggressive DLine that causes havoc all game, but most importantly, these guys are interchangeable destroyers.

7TFL's & 5 sacks in the first half, only allowing a staggering 22yds. The official stat line was that we allowed 0 yards in the 1st half, because of -26yds on the sacks to Tait Reynolds.

The Run Defense thus far this season has been nothing short of championship level dominant. People peed their pants all offseason about the impossibility of replacing last year's DE's, but the DLine overall has been better IMO.










Damon Wilson with the sack in the Red Zone right before the end of the 1st half, to save a TD.

View attachment 375297

This was big because it was another Red Zone close drive by Clemson, where the Defense stepped up & kept them from visiting the End Zone.


This was Damon Wilson's money game. He absolutely WRECKED the game & put Clemson's OL in an absolute panic. He showed his relentless effort to get after the QB & finally brought out the bevvy of pass rush moves he had in his ****nal. Some people were highly critical of him after the Stanford game because he bullrushed all game, but it was beyond obvious if you watched the film from that game, he was just working on his Bullrush power technique. For anybody that questioned DWilson or felt as though he hadn't lived up to the billing, I encourage you go rewatch his Mizzou tape. Everything he did vs Clemson was stuff he had did plenty at Mizzou. I believe he wasn't trying to empty a whole mag against a much lesser opponent in the 1st game of the season on a team like Stanford. But when the lights were the brightest in a big game on the road, he showed yall exactly what he's made of.

View attachment 375309




All game long, we made it our purpose to not let Clemson sniff a TD. They didn't score a TD until the beginning of the 4th when the game was already over. In fact, this Defense has only surrendered 5 total TD's all season. This is a Championship level Defense, collectively better than last year's as a whole. The only major weak point is middle of the field & Nickel coverage, but other than that, in every other facet the Defense is better by my view.

The only thing that can really be a hindrance to us is health. We're absolutely beat to sh*t as a team right now & the Secondary is hanging on by a thread. Hopefully, Lightfoot isn't out for a significant amount of time & we can start getting some guys back, because despite whatever minor flaws the Defense has, this is the most cohesive unit on the team. They have what it takes to anchor the team for a long distance playoff run back to the Natty to make history as the first team in the playoff era to ever lose a title game & then come back the following year to win it all. And the major difference is that we have a much more viable & dangerous Offense on the other side of the ball to where the Defense doesn't have to carry them.

The formula has been defined. Score early with firepower & get a 3 score lead, then unleash the Defense to bury any chance the other team has in coming back & then use the run game late to kill the clock & lean on the opposing Defense to sledgehammer them into submission.

If we can keep our guys healthy & protect Mensah, there isn't a team in CFB I think matches up with us, with the exception of one.

But as always, just have to keep trekking & keep it one game at time. Every week is the start of a new season, so the goal remains the same...

1-0.

View attachment 375310

Go Canes


this is really well done, and thank you for taking the time to do it.
 
Where do you think long term is best spot for Dunnigan? I'm not going to dog a freshmen in coverage I know he has struggled, but he was some serious speed. My gut tells me he is a single high at some point.
Strong side Safety, the spot he’s at now.

I thought Dunnigan played great.

He's not a Deep cover Safety, but he can & has played in the same role as Jakobe Thomas & has done a good job IMO.

He's not as experienced as a run Defender as Jakobe was as a Senior obviously, but his upside is special.

He's no doubt in my mind a NFL caliber player in the future. @DMoney comped him to Kyle Hamilton style Hybrid Safety/LB & I agree.

This type of Ball skills & IQ as a TF isn't common. We seen it last year with Fitzgerald, but as a FS it's a different look than doing it as a Boundary Safety.

00da259cc8194c15adc8312b8e98be0e.gif


Dunnigan is future All-America IMO.
 
Last edited:
View attachment 375290

Offense:
View attachment 375291

First drive on Offense, Rodriguez great seal block & 58 with great Blocks to help spring Barkate on the screen for 61yd TD.

View attachment 375303

2nd drive was Methodical
- Screen to Fletch
- Screen to Lofton
- Comeback to Upshaw
- Screen to Toney
- Crossing route to Barkate

But lead to a Mensah Sack.

View attachment 375296

What I've noticed thus far all season, is that the Offense operates at its best when they're striking fast & attacking with more defined concepts. The ball comes out quick & the WR's are able to make plays after the catch. I find that when tempo gets slowed down, the offensive efficiency grinds to a screeching halt & that's when we have fissures in the protection schemes, which allows for opposing Defenses to create pressure & get to Mensah.

McCoy got worked really bad on that Sack he gave up. Obviously, he's hurt & was toughening it out to come back in the game, but playing injured as an OL is actually a detriment to Mensah & the Offense in general. It's up to Mirabal & Mario to not let those guys go out there when they're hurt. I know toughness is Law, but there's a line of demarcation where Tuff blends into stupidity. Don't play hurt lineman, they put our QB at risk.



Phenomenal 3rd down catch by Toney.
Mensah laces a straight bullet under heavy duress, he gets absolutely walloped but delivered a great pass.

View attachment 375300

View attachment 375301

Ashton Hampton solidified himself as a top 15 pick in the draft & the best CB in country. As an Outside Field Corner, he actually followed Toney & played him in the Slot. That's not something that Ashton had done thus far in his career & the fact he stepped up & accepted the challenge against one of the best WR's in the Nation was huge for him. That was a big time matchup for him & he answered the call for the most part. Unfortunately, he plays for a really sh*tty team, but nonetheless, he made himself a lot of money this game, salute to him.


View attachment 375339


Terrific Backshoulder to Barkate

View attachment 375305

He had a very good game & played great in his role as a Downfield playmaker.


I thought Elijah Lofton played his best game as a Hurricane against Wake, until this Clemson game. He was physical after the catch with his strong low center of gravity style running being able to lower his shoulder & deliver a punishing hit at the end of runs. He's also a good blocker at the point of attack. He's not a prototype TE, due to lack of ideal size & raw athletic ability, but he is a Kyle Juszczyk FB/TE2 type & he'll likely have have a place in the league playing in the role as a dirty work H-back guy. Obviously he'll come back next year, but I would be shocked if when it's his time to declare that he gets anything higher than a 4th round grade.

Mallory established himself as the starter next year. With ChaMar Brown coming back & Ty Keyes coming in, it doesn't look too great for Pringle. If he ever wants to be a feature back, he'll probably have to Portal.

The WR group looks like the brightest spot on the Offense in the future. As long as we can keep everybody, we have a very solid nucleus to build with for next year.

Coming into this week I felt we needed to invest heavily this offseason in OL if for nothing more than depth purposes. The Clemson game didn't change that for me, it reinforced it.

I thought the line played very well, especially Rodriguez, played absolutely outstanding considering his inconsistency throughout the year. Congdon & Buchanan played very well IMO.


My biggest takeaway from the game & the season thus far is that Offensively we're among the best in the Nation in explosive plays. We're 6th in the all of CFB in plays 20 yards or more, while averaging 9.6yds per pass & 8.21yds per play, which is 1st in the Nation. It's basically the 2024 Offense on steroids, the key difference is, it's a lot less boom or bust, in that this version of the Offense is less reliant on the QB to do all the heavy lifting & is far more versatile with better playmakers at WR.

View attachment 375293

Defense:

View attachment 375292

Chase Smith played his best game as a Hurricane. He was all over the field & was queued in on all of his reads.

He had an excellent play on a 4th & 1 stop where he Blasted through the C-Gap & blew up the play in the backfield to get a TFL & turnover on downs. He had a stellar performance.

View attachment 375299



Toure with the Hitstick!

View attachment 375298

Lightfoot absolutely DEMOLISHES Clemson OG.

View attachment 375294

Derailed their drive momentum & put them at 3rd & 13, which lead to fantastic Press Man coverage by Ryan Mack.

- Great footwork off the release to Outside leverage
- Backpedal into open & the immediately flipped into Phase
- Got his head to track the ball
- Closed the distance pressing towards the inside shoulder to get Chest to Chest
- Then made a great transition to the outside shoulder to make a play on the ball to get the PD.

View attachment 375295



Jarquez Carter played early & played well. He provided great depth in the run game & was active as a pass rusher.

Moten had some really good pressure on the interior & was major part in why we suffocated them in the run game. He was giving Clemson's interior line fits all game

View attachment 375306
Also forced the fumble on Tait

View attachment 375307


Heck of a tackle by Poyser on the Quick out to the TE early in the 1st quarter. Probably the best open field tackle I've seen him make.

Thornton & Wilson with the pressure, Scroggins gets the sack.

View attachment 375308


Defensive line created an immense amount of pressure. 9TFL's & 6 sacks. This was the DLines best performance of the season. There was a lot of worry about the DLine all year, but IMO they're far more deep & multifaceted with pass rushers & run stoppers. We go legitimately 10 deep on the front, where we genuinely have guys who would be full time starters as our backups. Jason Taylor, Damione Lewis & Heatherman have done a terrific job in cultivating a hyperaggressive DLine that causes havoc all game, but most importantly, these guys are interchangeable destroyers.

7TFL's & 5 sacks in the first half, only allowing a staggering 22yds. The official stat line was that we allowed 0 yards in the 1st half, because of -26yds on the sacks to Tait Reynolds.

The Run Defense thus far this season has been nothing short of championship level dominant. People peed their pants all offseason about the impossibility of replacing last year's DE's, but the DLine overall has been better IMO.










Damon Wilson with the sack in the Red Zone right before the end of the 1st half, to save a TD.

View attachment 375297

This was big because it was another Red Zone close drive by Clemson, where the Defense stepped up & kept them from visiting the End Zone.


This was Damon Wilson's money game. He absolutely WRECKED the game & put Clemson's OL in an absolute panic. He showed his relentless effort to get after the QB & finally brought out the bevvy of pass rush moves he had in his ****nal. Some people were highly critical of him after the Stanford game because he bullrushed all game, but it was beyond obvious if you watched the film from that game, he was just working on his Bullrush power technique. For anybody that questioned DWilson or felt as though he hadn't lived up to the billing, I encourage you go rewatch his Mizzou tape. Everything he did vs Clemson was stuff he had did plenty at Mizzou. I believe he wasn't trying to empty a whole mag against a much lesser opponent in the 1st game of the season on a team like Stanford. But when the lights were the brightest in a big game on the road, he showed yall exactly what he's made of.

View attachment 375309




All game long, we made it our purpose to not let Clemson sniff a TD. They didn't score a TD until the beginning of the 4th when the game was already over. In fact, this Defense has only surrendered 5 total TD's all season. This is a Championship level Defense, collectively better than last year's as a whole. The only major weak point is middle of the field & Nickel coverage, but other than that, in every other facet the Defense is better by my view.

The only thing that can really be a hindrance to us is health. We're absolutely beat to sh*t as a team right now & the Secondary is hanging on by a thread. Hopefully, Lightfoot isn't out for a significant amount of time & we can start getting some guys back, because despite whatever minor flaws the Defense has, this is the most cohesive unit on the team. They have what it takes to anchor the team for a long distance playoff run back to the Natty to make history as the first team in the playoff era to ever lose a title game & then come back the following year to win it all. And the major difference is that we have a much more viable & dangerous Offense on the other side of the ball to where the Defense doesn't have to carry them.

The formula has been defined. Score early with firepower & get a 3 score lead, then unleash the Defense to bury any chance the other team has in coming back & then use the run game late to kill the clock & lean on the opposing Defense to sledgehammer them into submission.

If we can keep our guys healthy & protect Mensah, there isn't a team in CFB I think matches up with us, with the exception of one.

But as always, just have to keep trekking & keep it one game at time. Every week is the start of a new season, so the goal remains the same...

1-0.

View attachment 375310

Go Canes
 

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This is a what 2024 was supposed to be, but we weren't built for Can Ward and that offense yet, hence the quick and big portal moves we saw post Ward to get pass rushers, just had bigger holes elsewhere...
Yeah, the Defense that season just wasn't sustainable for the long haul.

The GTech game broke the dam & the Cuse game flooded our season.

We just didn't have the horses for the race that year.

But this season is the perfect mix of
2024 Offense + 2025 Defense.

All we need is to get healthy by December & we win the whole thing going away.
 
Yeah, the Defense that season just wasn't sustainable for the long haul.

The GTech game broke the dam & the Cuse game flooded our season.

We just didn't have the horses for the race that year.

But this season is the perfect mix of
2024 Offense + 2025 Defense.

All we need is to get healthy by December & we win the whole thing going away.
still concerned about the OL. they're showing serious improvement but mensah is still getting hit too much, by our standards. will they become playoff/championship caliber? we will see.

it is interesting though because the expectations set by last year's run have changed how i watch the team. this time last year i wasn't thinking "is X unit good enough for the playoffs?" i was just praying we'd win the game in front of us, lol. so perhaps i'm overthinking.
 
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