Dabo Swinney updates injuries, including Adam Randall's fast track |
CLEMSON – Three fall camp practices are in the books and the Tigers are already tracking a few nagging injuries. The good news is that they all appear to be minor.
Head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media following Monday’s practice, a practice in which wide receiver Joseph Ngata donned a yellow (no contact) jersey. “He’ll be fine,” Swinney said of Ngata. “He had a great play the other day and just kind of came down really hard. So, they just kind of held him for probably a day or so. But he’ll hopefully be ready to go here in a couple days and the scrimmage on Saturday.” It’s always worrisome when the oft-injured Ngata is out, but Swinney said it’s minor this time around. “He’s had a great start, really good start,” Swinney said. “In fact, it was a really great play. So, he’ll be fine.” Freshman wide receiver Adam Randall out of Myrtle Beach tore his ACL in the spring, but Swinney said Randall is ahead of schedule in his rehab. “He’s way ahead of where he’s supposed to be,” Swinney said. “I think he’ll be somewhere in September, somewhere in there. What day it is, I don’t know, but I think that’s where he’s tracking.” Wide receiver Troy Stellato was out of a green (limited) jersey and allowed to practice in full Monday. Defensive tackle Tré Williams is dinged up and will miss some time. Swinney is hopeful that Williams will be back for the Georgia Tech game, but if not, shortly thereafter. The Tigers will don full pads for the first time Thursday and hold the first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday. “Right now we have a lot that we're doing on both sides of the ball. Just really installing everything,” Swinney said. “That first scrimmage is the first time they’ve played football since the spring, everything up until that point is practice and situational stuff. And Thursday, we'll have a little bit of live because that's the first day we can go full pads. But it's really that first live day. And now you're trying to take everything you've been working on for whatever that is at the time. Ten practices, okay, let's see what else has stuck and kind of see what we got to go back over. “And then also just challenging the coaches because it's a scrimmage when we get out there on Saturday, it's not scripted, so you have to respond and react to the situation.” On wide receiver Antonio Williams “He's quick as a cat. He's a really instinctive player. He still got a lot going on, trying to maximize all his reps, but all three of those freshmen, I couldn't be more pleased. That's a great group. Adam Randall, he had the fastest wide receiver time in practice. We GPS all these guys. He had the fastest time of all the wide receivers. I looked at it again, I'm like, wait, he ran 20 miles an hour or something like that. It's crazy. And he's a true freshman. I haven't had a chance to have Cole (Turner) and Antonio, man, these are two exciting prospects. Cole Turner, he hasn't dropped the ball. He catches everything if he touches it. He's got some of the most natural ball skills and just body control and reactionary ability to wherever the ball is. Everything he touches, he catches. He's a kid that needs a year in the weight room. But I'm telling you, that kid right there is going to be special. And then Antonio is just like I told you, he's a really smooth, very knowledgeable young player. He's got a lot of a good experience. He's played ball at a high level in this state and he's had a lot of success, and you see that in him. He still has to get stronger and we still have to bring him along. And he's competing with some pretty good vets out here. We have a good group and receivers. It's been a real bright spot for us in the camp. Really proud.” Any clarity at punter? “No, we have a long way to go. I thought Aidan (Swanson) had a really bad first day, and then he came out the next day and, maybe it was because you all weren't here and he was unbelievable on Saturday. He's got to find a way to be consistent. He can do it. It might have been the worst punt drill I've ever seen in my life. The first day awful. We're going for it if it’s fourth down. But then you come back the next day and day two was awesome. Won the day. We had a big punt competition, so we didn't punt today. We have a long way to go there. I feel good about our protection, I feel good about our personnel, but we'll be ready. But we're not ready right now. We have a long way to go.” On Will Taylor “Good, quick, explosive. It's only three days in. He's learning. He's like a sponge out here. What I love about him is he's got everything and he's so explosive, but we’re just really technically polishing him up and he’s really learning all the nuances of playing the position. But physically looks great. Really pleased with what I have seen for three days.”
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
