Spring Practice: Wednesday final practice notes
Clemson just wrapped up its final spring practice of 2018 a few moments ago. It sure has flown by.
A few notes regarding practice and Saturday’s game:
The two teams, orange and white, have been split up evenly but we only know the coaching staffs and where a couple of players are.
Head coach of the white team will be Bill Spiers and Mickey Conn will coach the team in orange.
Co-offensive coordinators Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott will be on the orange team and Brent Venables will of course coach both sides on the defensive end. Points will come at a premium on Saturday.
There will be two quarterbacks per team. Kelly Bryant and Chase Brice will be on one side, Hunter Johnson and Trevor Lawrence will be on the other.
Elliott said he wants to see the quarterbacks manage the game well and function once they are out on their own in front of a large crowd. Some players have proved it before, others it will be their first time running out as a “starter.”
The three biggest things Elliott is looking for out of the offense on Saturday: compete, handle the crowd and the day itself, and execute at a high level.
Elliott echoed Swinney’s comment that Clemson could win with any of the four quarterbacks they have at hand. 75-percent of the offense has been installed this spring and the quarterbacks have all done a steady job of grasping everything.
The biggest improvement for the offense this spring has been the tempo. At first, it was sluggish and with spring break there was a little rust, but all in all the players have bought into the tempo they are trying to set when they take the field.
The running back competition started with Tavien Feaster at the top of the list, but now it’s a three-horse race with Adam Choice and Travis Etienne pushing right behind him. Elliott said he’s been trying to get Feaster to maintain his explosiveness in the open field.
Tight end Garrett Williams has made the most of his opportunity this spring, Elliott told us. Williams has had the best spring out of all the tight ends and his confidence is as high as ever. Big news from Elliott there and nice to hear after Williams suffered an ACL tear this time a year ago.
Isaiah Simmons plans to play both positions on Saturday as he continues to experiment at Nickel and SAM. He enjoys the freedom that comes with playing the Nickel position.
The competition between Simmons and Jalen Williams at the SAM position has been a healthy one. Williams has helped Simmons learn the position all spring and they both want to see each other succeed. J.D. Davis told us there’s definitely been a learning curve with Simmons at the linebacker spot, but has continued to improve as the spring moved along.
That’s about it for today. Hope to see you all this Saturday in Death Valley.