Wednesday Night Clemson Football Practice Update: Injury intel, portal players shining
CLEMSON — Clemson had a stadium scrimmage today, its last practice session before spring break.
A few of the more notable items from Dabo Swinney:
— The defense dominated, and Swinney said it was not just the first team but the second and third teams as well.
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An important caveat: Only two offensive starters were available. So that meant some bad matchups for the offensive line and receivers as they were going against veterans who have been through some rodeos.
That meant folks such as Naeem Burroughs and Connor Salmin got exposed.
Nevertheless, Swinney said it was the most impressive practice performance from the defense since Tom Allen arrived. He also said the defense is definitely ahead of where it was at the same point last year.
“The best thing is some of these offensive guys got exposed,” Swinney said. “Because some of them thought they were better than they are.”
— Swinney said the “incredibly inconsistent” day on offense was marked by procedure penalties, bad snaps and poor situational awareness.
He said the quarterbacks were “just OK.”
“But you can only do your part,” he said, referring to the lack of help the quarterbacks got from their linemen and receivers.
— As we noted on the board earlier, Kourtney Kelly was injured during the scrimmage and Swinney said he doesn’t know the severity. So we’ll certainly keep you posted when we learn more on that.
Gordon Sellars has missed a few days and wasn’t available today. Swinney said he was trending up before his injury. He did say he should be back soon.
Shavar Young was injured earlier in spring practice and will miss the rest of spring, Swinney said.
Tristan Smith had tightrope surgery, the same that Jahiem Lawson underwent after he injured his ankle against Furman last fall.
—Markus Strong had two sacks today, Swinney said. He raved about Polo Anderson.
“He just catches your eye. That dude can move. He’s smooth.”
— The top two running backs Swinney named were Gideon Davidson and Chris Johnson. Said both did some good things and are progressing well. He said Jay Haynes still hasn’t returned to practice.
Swinney said David Eziomume had been progressing well but didn’t have a good day today. Lost a fumble and gave up a sack when he got beat on a blitz.
— He said the safety position “just looks different.”
He named three safeties in order: Ronan Hanafin, Corey Myrick and Jerome Carter.
He said CB Elliott Washington has been the best player in camp.
“Every single day he’s made a play. He’s turned the ball over more than anybody.”
— I asked Swinney about learning the new language of this offense compared to learning the Air Raid three years ago.
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“It’s like I’m back in America,” he said.
He said the past three years was like being in Spain and having to learn Spanish.
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— He wants a big turnout for the spring game March 28 so the fans can help this team build.
“You’re not going to see the 49ers out there. We’re not a finished product.”
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