White defeats Orange 17-0 in Spring Game |
CLEMSON – As expected, the defense dominated Saturday’s annual Spring Game between the Orange and the White, a 17-0 win for the Kyle Parker-led White squad, but there were enough glimpse of offensive hope, coupled with defensive dominance, to give hope for the coming season. Parker caught a touchdown pass and Andre Ellington gained 86 yards on 16 attempts and scored a touchdown to lead the White in the game, which was played in Death Valley in front of a record 27,000 fans. “This was a beautiful day, a great day for Clemson football,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “Tremendous fan support. Had a great Junior Day as well. Had most of our signees here. The weather was great, the fan support was a record crowd and I thought both teams competed. I was pleased with the effort on both sides. When you divide your team up evenly you get thin at many positions. “But, you can evaluate how much they compete and who will make some plays. There was good energy on both sides. We have a chance to be a good football team this fall. We just have to work hard over the summer m- that will be important to a lot of players.” Parker, who hit a home run for the Clemson baseball team in Friday night’s baseball game against Duke in Durham, was picked up this morning around 9:30 a.m. and brought back to Clemson for the spring game, and he completed 7-of-15 passes for 79 yards. However, he also caught a 23-yard touchdown pass on an end-around from flanker Marquan Jones, a scoring play that gave the White team a 17-0 lead with just 9:59 left in the game. Two of Parker’s completions were to wide receiver Jaron Brown, and both came late in the scrimmage, but Brown showed good hands and some nifty moves and said he feels like he is ready to be a contributor in the fall. “I wanted to come out here and compete and have a good time,” said Brown, who finished with the two catches for 33 yards. “We have playmakers for sure at wide receiver, and we have the guys who can get us the ball. We want to just go out there and make plays, and that’s what I tried to do today.” The teams were scoreless until there were just 35 seconds remaining in the first quarter, when Ellington burst around the outside and to the right for a 34-yard touchdown. Ellington finished the day with 16 carries for 86 yards to lead all runners, and also tacked on two receptions for 28 yards. Redshirt freshman quarterback Tajh Boyd completed just 8-of-25 passes, for 132 yards, but had four pass plays of at least 20 yards, including three to tight end Dwayne Allen, who caught passes of 35, 26, and 20 yards to finish with 81 yards receiving. “On offense, we saw Tajh Boyd improve over the spring,” Swinney said. “He got better today. He made some nice throws and made some big plays to Dwayne Allen.” The White defense was led by linebacker Corico Hawkins, who recorded five tackles, and Marcus Gilchrist, who had four stops, a sack and a pass deflection. Andre Branch had just two tackles, but both were sacks and he added three quarterback pressures. Byron Maxwell had two passes broken up and a fumble recovery. The Orange was led by Brandon Maye, who had eight tackles, and redshirt freshman Quandon Christian, who added seven tackles. Defensive lineman Kourtnei Brown added five stops and a pass broken up, while safety Rashard Hall had an interception and a game best three passes broken up. “I just prepared hard the whole spring to put myself in a position to play like this in the spring game,” Christian said. “People said we were weak at linebacker, and I think we’ve proved to people this spring that we have playmakers at linebacker.” Maye said he thought this group of linebackers entered the spring with a “chip” on their shoulders because of how they are perceived. “There are a lot of guys in here who are playing with a chip,” Maye said. “Coach Steele had me at second-team a lot this spring, and that is to try and make us compete more. This was a great opportunity and test. We have playmakers. I know we have them. We are just ready to grow, and ready to sprout. We just have to get guys lined up and keep learning, both on and off the field.” Swinney said he was pleased with the depth he sees on the defensive side of the ball. “We have good depth on defense, I feel good about where we are there,” Swinney said. “We really have two starting defensive lines and we have depth in the secondary, even with the loss of Chris Chancellor and Crezdon Butler, who have started the last three years for us. But, I feel as good about the linebacker position as any on defense. “When we get back together, we have a chance to be a good football team. The key will be this summer. I am anxious to get back on the field in August and see what we can get done.” Notes - There were no injuries recorded in the Spring game. Scotty Cooper (pulled groin), Mason Cloy (broken leg) and Wilson Norris (torn ACL) missed the spring game due to injuries they had sustained previously. - The team was treated to a talk by former Clemson All-American and current Denver Broncos star Brian Dawkins after the game. “Brian Dawkins gave a great talk to our team after the game,” said Swinney. “He talked about what it meant to be all-in with a program and the importance of working hard in the off season.” Dawkins is an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, the most in history by a former Clemson player and among the top five totals for a safety in the history of the NFL. Dawkins was among nearly a 100 former players who returned to campus for today’s game. - The attendance was 27,000 which was a Spring game record.
Clemson Spring Game Statistics
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