Spring Practice Observations: More 'War Daddies' are on the way

TJ Parker is already making his presence known (Photo by Merrell Mann).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Tue Mar 07 16:20:55 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – The youngsters on the defensive line are going to be a problem. In a good way for Clemson.

The Tigers took back to the practice fields early Tuesday afternoon, and with sunny skies, high clouds, and temperatures in the low 80s, it was the perfect afternoon to see the freshmen in action.

The only notable visitor is DeShawn Williams, who currently plays for the Denver Broncos and played for the Tigers through the 2014 season. Even Williams was impressed with the size of some of the younger players on the defensive line, and he spent the early part of the practice watching the good-on-good session with head coach Dabo Swinney.

Ok, let’s start with the some depth chart observations.

*Antonio Williams, Hamp Greene, Peyton Streko, Clay Swinney and Jackson Crosby all worked at punt return.

*When the defense took the field, the first-team defensive line was Greg Williams, Peter Woods, Tyler Davis, and Cade Denhoff. The linebackers were Barrett Carter and Jeremiah Trotter, with Toriano Pride and Nate Wiggins at corner and Tyler Venables, Andrew Mukuba, and RJ Mickens at the safety spot.

The second-team defense was Zaire Patterson, Tré Williams, TJ Parker and Vic Burley on the defensive line, with TJ Dudley and Wade Woodaz at linebacker, and Malcolm Greene, Khalil Barnes, Kylon Griffin, and Kylen Webb in the secondary.

The third-team defense had Stephiylan Green, Caden Story, Jahiem Lawson, and Armon Mason on the defensive line, Dee Crayton and Wade Woodaz at linebacker, and Jacob Hendricks, Malcolm Greene, Peter Nearn, Caleb Nix, and Kylon Griffin in the secondary.

*On special teams, it was Aidan Swanson who was having a good day today.

*It is fun to watch Cade Klubnik run the offense. He has a natural charisma and it’s easy to see his leadership. He talks to everybody – different from what we’ve seen the last two years – and is constantly in motion.

*Watching the linebackers and defensive backs go through punt block drills, the usual suspects – RJ Mickens, Barrett Carter and Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. – all jumped out, but Kobe McCloud and TJ Dudley were a couple of newcomers that stood out immediately.

McCloud and Dudley redshirted last season and only played a handful of snaps. Both went through Clemson’s Power Hour strength training program, and it shows.

*During the tempo period, Hunter Helms was leading the second team through the drill and was forced out of the pocket trying to escape the rush. Helms evaded one defender, but Tré Williams looked like he was shot out of a cannon as he came racing across the field toward Helms to make the ‘sack.’

*The quarterbacks and running backs went through a ball security drill where they each had a football attached to a resistance band – or giant rubber band – that was probably three feet long. They would try to run down the field, while a teammate was tugging on the end band trying to rip the football out.

*Early in the practice session, the quarterbacks went off to their own field with new offensive coordinator and quarterback’s coach Garrett Riley. One quarterback would stand facing the other four quarterbacks about five yards away, and a trainer would run a few yards behind them playing the part of a wide receiver or tight end. Riley would stand behind the quarterback throwing, and Riley would motion to the others where which way to move and where to divide, opening a throwing window to the receiver. There were times one ‘defender’ would move, there times three would move in one direction, two in one direction, etc. This made the quarterback make quick reads and hit the open window as fast as possible. Also, as we noted yesterday, Riley does everything with a purpose. He’s very intense from start to finish.

*Burley, Green, Parker, and Woods all look ready to play, body-wise. And for the second straight day, Woods ran out there first (along with Tyler Davis at defensive tackle). But TJ Parker stood out in our brief glimpse today – he was wreaking havoc on almost every snap. When the defense moves from a 3-4 look to a 4-3 or 4-2-5 look, Woods makes the transition easily from the nose.

It’s interesting to note that one observer – who has logged a lot of NFL time – said that he considers Tyler Davis to join the long ranks of “War Daddies” that have played along the Tigers’ defensive line. And when he looks at a few of those freshmen and says that more War Daddies are on the way, you listen.

Nikki Hood and Brandon Rink contributed to this report.