Clemson’s 2024 Orange vs White Spring game was a battle of the coordinators as offensive coordinator Garrett Riley will be the head coach of the Orange team and defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin will head up the white team.
This also marks the first time fans get to see what next season’s team looks like in a game-like setting. It’s also the first opportunity for Clemson to begin answering some of the looming questions from the off-season. This weekend will be the first look at where the program is, heading into the 2024 season.
What Is the Injury Update?
The Tigers have been dealing with the injury bug for the last few seasons. The position room it affected the most during that time was the wide receiver room. Many scholarship players in the Spring of 2023 were out or limited in those practices. This season, the room was full to start Spring practices. Eventually, though, the injuries crept in and there will be some guys out this weekend.
Four wide receivers are missing the Spring game. This includes standout wide receiver Tyler Brown (foot), Cole Turner (strained ab), Troy Stellato (shoulder), and Noble Johnson. Other key names who will be sitting out Saturday are star defensive linemen Peter Woods (mono), defensive tackle Vic Burley (hamstring), and freshmen safety Ricardo Jones (foot). Overall there will be 12 players out with injury.
Is Cade Klubnik Imporving?
Junior quarterback Cade Klubnik is entering his second year as the full-time starter. He finished last season completing 290 of his 454 pass attempts for 2,844 yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Klubnik did not play badly last season, but he also wasn’t great.
Going into year two in the Riley offense though, there should be some improvements made. Having a full season of running the offense as well as the film from that season to look back at should help Klubnik grasp the offense better than he did a year ago. Klubnik has the talent to be a big-time player. To take his game to the next level though he has to become a better decision-maker, especially in key moments, and protect the football.
Will the Offense be Better?
It is no secret the Tigers’ offense has not been up to standard over the last three seasons. It especially has not been as good as the national championship teams of the recent past. Towards the end of 2023 though, it seemed as if the offense finally started putting things together.
Much of this had to do with the run game, more specifically Phil Mafah, being leaned on more. Mafah will be back in Death Valley for his senior season and is expected to be more of a focal point this season with Will Shipley gone. Clemson may have begun finding its new offensive identity at the end of last season. It may not be the age of WRU at Clemson anymore. Maybe there should be more of an emphasis on the run game. That is unless the five-star freshmen wide receivers have something to say about it.
How Does the Freshmen Class Look?
There has been much said about Dabo Swinney’s continued reliance on old-school, high school recruiting as opposed to shopping in the transfer portal. We could see how well that may be working starting in the spring game. The 2024 class is loaded with talent, and many of them are already on campus as early enrollees. Notably, two of the three 2024 five-star prospects picked up by Swinney have been practicing this spring. Now they are ready to show a bit of what they got this weekend.
One of which is wide receiver Bryant Wesco. He’s been talked about highly all spring. Wesco has been credited for being not just immensely talented, but also mature for a young player. Reports say he also makes very few mistakes. Even when he has, he takes coaching well. Clemson has been waiting for a wide receiver to emerge as the number-one guy who can make plays for them when needed. That guy may be making his spring game debut on Saturday afternoon.
On the other side of the ball, as one-star linebacker heads to the NFL, in comes another linebacker who many believe will be on his way there in a few years. Sammy Brown was a consensus top-30 prospect across the board. According to Swinney in press conferences this spring, Brown has looked very good as well so far. Fans have been waiting to see him in a Tigers uniform since he made his commitment. Now they’ll get their first chance to see him this weekend.
Will the Defense Stay Dominant?
The four starters across the Tigers’ defensive line last season have all moved on. Along with them, All-American linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr and all-conference cornerback Nate Wiggins are moving on to the NFL. One thing Clemson does well year after year though is reloading on defense. Even with all their starters on the defensive line from last season gone, the group still has great depth.
Woods moved from defensive tackle to defensive end this spring but won’t be available Saturday. The other defensive line standout TJ Parker will be participating though and should have a big year. At defensive tackle, three guys expected to bring good production to the Tigers’ defensive front are DeMonte Capehart, Tré Williams, and Payton Page. They are all veteran players who have experience. Two of them, likely Page and Capehart, will now finally have to step up from rotational player to starter.
These are just a few of the questions Clemson must begin to answer in their spring game. There are not many opportunities in the college football calendar for programs to provide a game-like atmosphere to prepare players for week one. This is especially crucial for young players. That is what makes the spring game so important every year. It is the first real glimpse into not just the upcoming season, but the future of the program as a whole. For Clemson, there are plenty of narratives around its future and where Swinney is taking it. That’s what makes starting to answer some of these questions around the program important to do now.
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