Clemson defense calls players-only meeting ahead of matchup with Syracuse

Jeremiah Trotter promised this week that the Clemson defense will adjust its focus going forward.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Oct 21 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Clemson’s defensive players know that if the 2022 team reaches the heights it wants to reach this season, the defense will have to play better than it has for much of the first seven games this season and the fourth quarter against FSU last week. The group was so embarrassed by what happened against the Seminoles that they called a players-only meeting.

The Seminoles totaled 460 yards, including 206 on the ground. The Tigers gave up 169 total yards of offense in the fourth quarter alone and almost blew a 20-point lead, turning a 34-14 advantage into a 34-28 final that saw the Tigers have to grab a late onside kick to hold onto the win.

Head coach Dabo Swinney said he’s seen the defense take a step forward with its focus this week as the Tigers prepare to take on No. 14 Syracuse Saturday at noon in Death Valley.

“They're competitors. These guys take pride in their performance and really the biggest thing was just our tackling,” Swinney said. “That's fundamental and just wrapping up and being where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there. But absolutely, these guys are a very competitive bunch and again, they take a lot of pride in the performance and anytime we don't do something as well as we'd like, there's always a lot of effort to get better.”

The defense gave up 337 passing yards and six touchdowns to Wake Forest, Furman totaled 384 total yards and Louisiana Tech rang up 311 yards through.

Because of those numbers, the meeting was called.

“Basically, within ourselves, we are trying to get this problem situated and trying to get it solved before it gets bad later in the season,” linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said. “But we are definitely going to handle it and it is going to be a situation that does not come up again.”

Trotter said FSU’s success on the ground was because of Clemson mistakes.

“They ran the ball on us so well because we missed assignments fitting the gaps and our tackling is something we have to make sure we focus on this week and get better at,” Trotter said. “We are just trying to make sure we keep our guys focused in our preparation throughout the week and try to stack good days of practice. Preparation is what is going to overall show what we do on Saturday. So, we have to make sure we practice with purpose every single day.”