Swinney excited about the future of the Clemson offensive line |
Clemson’s offensive line struggled during parts of last Friday’s Gator Bowl win over Kentucky but showed resilience late in helping push the Tigers to a 38-35 victory, and head coach
Dabo Swinney thinks that line has a chance to improve this offseason.
The Tigers allowed a season-high eight sacks against the Wildcats but were without two of the starters who were expected to be stalwarts at the start of the season. Right guard Walker Parks was hurt early in the season, and left guard Marcus Tate was hurt late in the year, and that led to a revolving door at those spots (and left tackle) while the coaches tried to figure out the best combination. They finally settled on Tristan Leigh at left tackle, Collin Sadler at left guard and freshman Harris Sewell at right guard. Swinney also made a change at offensive line coach after the win over South Carolina, replacing Thomas Austin with Matt Luke. Swinney knows the Tigers have to get better up front, but he’s optimistic they can do just that. “Yeah, we gotta get better,” Swinney said. “We’ve got to re-establish our depth, and obviously, we’ve been without Walker Parks — this was a tough one, his dad played at Kentucky, so it’s a tough one for him to miss — and Marcus Tate. But we’ll have seven starters coming back, and we’re excited about that. We’re excited about what we’ve got.” How did Swinney explain the eight sacks? “I’m sure not all those sacks were on the OL. That’s kind of the first thing everybody does (is point to the OL),” he said. “But we’ll watch the tape, and we’ll assess it. There’s probably one or two that Cade (Klubnik) might’ve taken. I don’t know, we’ll see when we watch the tape. There’s a lot of things that go into it.” The good news is that the Tigers should get Tate and Parks back sooner rather than later, and Blake Miller, Sewell and Sadler all played significant snaps this season. The only loss on the line is starting center Will Putnam, and the coaches feel like there is functional depth across the board. It also helps that Luke is known as an offensive line guru. The former Ole Miss head coach was the offensive line coach of the Georgia team that won the National Championship in 2021. He stepped away from the game after that season but was back on the sidelines – and very visible – during the win over Kentucky. “I’m really excited about the group that’s coming back,” Swinney said. “Certainly excited about Coach Luke coming in and getting his first one.”
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