An anonymous coach discusses his opinions of Clemson

by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - Wed Aug 10 11:50:54 GMT-04:00 2016

Sports Illustrated released its latest preseason preview article on Wednesday with an anonymous coach discussing Clemson and his honest opinion on the Tigers' style of play.

The anonymous coach agrees that everything on Clemson's offense starts with Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson and his true dual-threat abilities.

"It starts and ends with Deshaun Watson," anonymous coach said. "You have to limit his explosive plays by eliminating the run-pass options they use off the inside zone by being firm inside. You want Watson to carry the ball—then you’ve got to hit him. Passing wise, you’ve got to force him to play into the pocket because when he gets outside, he’s going to create big plays with his feet. You must do a great job with your rush-contain lanes and try to alter his sight angles."

However, he doesn't seem to be much of a fan of Clemson's highly regarded offensive line while single-handedly giving the Clemson O-line some fresh bulletin material.

"Watson’s got game-breaking weapons with [junior] running back Wayne Gallman and [junior] receivers Artavis Scott and Mike Williams," anonymous coach said. "[Senior tight end] Jordan Leggett won’t block anybody, but he can catch. The offensive line isn’t going to knock anybody off the ball."

The anonymous source also made the provocative claim that Clemson might be stealing signs from other schools.

"Defensive coordinator Brent Venables does a great job, but he’s late getting his calls in," anonymous coach said. "That’s because they’re probably as good as anybody at stealing signals, and Venables is waiting to see your offensive call. [Clemson declined to comment.] And because they’re so multiple on defense, they’re prone to being out of position. They’ll line up late, and you can get a guy running free."

If the opponent's signs are so vulnerable that teams can easily understand it during the contest, I think it's past due time for the school to introduce some new preventive measures.