Talent Everywhere: Shipley, Bresee, Carter, and Ajou headline first fall practice |
CLEMSON – The amount of top-tier talent that has walked through the doors at Clemson over the last decade is staggering, but to see the amount of talent on the field during Friday’s first fall practice of 2021 is even more jaw-dropping.
Yes, it’s the first practice. Yes, they were in shorts and helmets and no one has tackled anyone. It’s early, and there isn’t a lot you can tell about a team’s demeanor and makeup at this point. What you can see is talent, and there is top-shelf talent across the board on this team. No wonder head coach Dabo Swinney is always smiling. Swinney told the media early Friday that he was even going to bend his rules – instead of the media leaving after the first five periods, we could stay for the entire practice. And even though we don’t have interviews Saturday, we are invited back to watch the entirety of Saturday’s afternoon practice. Swinney even has changed up his part of practice – he now carries a wireless mic and can be heard ALL over the field. At any time. We have plenty of observations, and we will have plenty more after tomorrow’s practice. Let’s get started. *Which players stood out, to the point that every time you turned around they were doing something that made you take notice? Xavier Thomas, Bryan Bresee, Will Shipley, Ajou Ajou, Dietrick Pennington, Barrett Carter, and Marcus Tate. That doesn’t mean there weren’t others that stood out, but that group really stood out. I will start with Thomas, who looks like a different player than he has been at any point the last few years. He looks leaner AND stronger and he’s explosive. As one person told me, “He’s a different human than he was a year ago.” When he was in the starting group with Bresee, Tyler Davis, and Myles Murphy, we all stood and watched. As for Bresee, he’s a menace. A cheat code. There are times when he simply needs to come out of practice so the offensive line can work. Shipley had a few freshman moments, including a dropped punt, but he had plenty of WOW moments as well. On one play, he took the handoff and slipped in behind the left guard. He then popped out in between the guard and tackle and split the defense in about three easy steps. No one touched him. He had three or four of those plays, and you can tell how explosive he is. That isn’t taking anything away from Lyn-J Dixon and Kobe Pace. Pace looks like he is in control out there and took a bunch of first-team snaps. Dixon looks sleek. That’s my word for him. Sleek. He is also running lower, with his pads lower, than I’ve seen in the past. You gotta figure that Pace and Dixon will see the majority of the snaps against Georgia, but Shipley has to get on the field somewhere. (For the record, Jordan McFadden told us after practice that he thinks Shipley is the faster player on the team. The only player he thinks has a chance to compare to Shipley is known speedster Frank Ladson.) Shipley and Dixon also took snaps at punt return. Freshman receiver Troy Stellato developed cramps about 2/3 of the way through practice, but he looked the part during his time on the field. He is bigger in person than you would think. *Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh wasn’t wearing a brace and he looked extremely mobile. It’s hard to believe he suffered an Achilles injury just a few months ago. It looks like it’s gonna take him a few practices to get his legs under him, but otherwise it was a great first practice. Hunter Helms looked like a guy who knows the offense and was on-point with his throws, while Billy Wiles and Will Taylor each had their freshman moments. *Big offensive linemen Marcus Tate and Dietrick Pennington are noticeable because of their size. And my guess is that in two or three years, everyone is going to know Pennington’s name. As for Tate, he stepped in at right tackle today. I think he has a chance to play a bunch this season. He moves really well and has great hands (and again, no one is hitting yet), so I want to see him a little later in camp. But so far? Oh, so good. *Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is fun to watch. He throws BB’s everywhere. All over the field. *All of the receivers had their moments, but it was Ajou Ajou who showed the most athleticism. He is another one that looks more confident. And when he’s on the field with his buddy, EJ Williams, it’s a dangerous combo. Ajou went up one time and made a one-handed grab over corner Fred Davis, then caught a tipped pass over the field that he turned into a long play, and followed that with a seam route that was a thing of beauty. Another freshman, Beaux Collins, had a diving catch that caused wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham to run out on the field to celebrate. *Barrett Carter was covering one receiver, and the receiver ran a flat route that looked like it caught Barrett off guard. However, he recovered and his closing speed was on full display as he covered 20 yards in what looked like four or five strides. *On the offensive line, it was Mason Trotter that ran out to center instead of Hunter Rayburn. Tristan Leigh was behind McFadden at left tackle. *More to come.
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