Yahoo Sports 10 observations as Clemson football holds first preseason practice of 2024
Clemson football’s fall camp is underway.
After reporting to campus earlier this week, the Tigers hit the field at the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex for the first time Thursday ahead of the 2024 season.
There’s plenty of intrigue surrounding coach Dabo Swinney’s program, which fell below expectations at 9-4 last year, has missed three straight College Football Playoffs and is 30 days out from its season opener against SEC power Georgia.
Some quick notes and observations from the seven early periods of Clemson practice open to media members, as well as Swinney’s pre-practice news conference:
Things can (and will) change. But as things stand, Clemson is remarkably healthy entering camp. Out of the scholarship players, only one (CB Myles Oliver) was wearing a yellow non-contact jersey. And only two (DT Vic Burley and RB Keith Adams Jr.) were in green limited-contact jerseys. Everyone else was full go.
There’s a ton of intrigue surrounding Clemson’s true freshman WR pairing of Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore, both of whom were top 50 national recruits. Wesco’s been on campus since January and caught a touchdown in the spring game. Perhaps more importantly, he weighed in at 182 pounds on Wednesday after getting to Clemson around 160. Moore took in his first college practice ever Thursday after enrolling this summer. In limited viewing time, both looked the part. Also, Wesco wears a Nike shooting sleeve on his left arm. Smooth look.
Quarterback Cade Klubnik weighed in at 210 pounds at the team’s BIG Weigh-In event Wednesday, marking another step in a physical transformation Swinney’s challenged him on publicly. The thinking goes more weight helps Klubnik avoid the sort of drive-killing fumbles he had far too often last year. Klubnik weighed about 180 pounds when he enrolled in January 2022, so these now 21 pounds of extra muscle are a big help. Clemson’s starting quarterback always look great in practice, lanky with a picturesque throwing form. Better to form new opinions on him Week 1 against Georgia, though.
On another QB note, it’s still interesting to see former third-string QB Paul Tyson in uniform, going through drills. He’s a student coach this year but still has remaining eligibility, so Swinney’s asked him to stay in shape as a “break glass if needed” option behind Klubnik. Swinney even went out of his way to say the Tigers have four guys who can run the offense if needed, listing Tyson in there behind Klubnik, No. 2 QB Christopher Vizzina and No. 3 QB Trent Pearman. You wonder what would happen if Klubnik ever got seriously hurt.
Swinney raved about true freshman tight end Christian Bentancur in his presser. The former four-star recruit is the only player in Illinois high school history to catch 200 passes and score 2,000 points in basketball. Not bad. And the fact he’s realistically No. 4 or No. 5 on the depth chart at best speaks to the talent in the Tigers’ tight end room. Jake Briningstool, like Davis Allen before him, has established himself as a likely NFL Draft pick entering his senior year. Josh Sapp, Banks Pope, Olsen Patt-Henry and Markus Dixon can all play a little, too.
It wasn’t a surprise to hear Swinney dub Barrett Carter a starting linebacker. He’s one of the best in the country. It was a little more surprising to hear Swinney give Wade Woodaz the same treatment — starting linebacker no matter what — until you watch Woodaz play. He’s all of 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds and should get a chance to truly showcase his unique skillset this season. This is a guy who was playing safety in the 2022 ACC championship game quite well as a true freshman and should get a ton of LB snaps in 2024.
Peter Woods and T.J. Parker are the big names at defensive end, of course. Both were freshman All American selections. Keep an eye, though, on developmental veterans Jahiem Lawson and Armon Mason. Lawson, from nearby Daniel High, has shot up to 251 pounds after coming in a little small. And Swinney raved about Mason, a walk-on, a few times last preseason before he got hurt and never saw the field. Woods (who will play across the D line) and Parker can’t play all the snaps. It’ll be interesting to see how assistant coach Chris Rumph’s DE rotation shakes out behind them. Cade Denhoff and AJ Hoffler should see a lot of snaps, too.
Lots of new and old faces out and about Thursday in more active coaching roles after the NCAA cleared the way for “unlimited coaches.” Any staffer can now offer on-field instruction during practice and games, and Clemson took full advantage. For example, South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward and former Clemson star and new coaching intern Ben Boulware were helping out DC Wes Goodwin with the linebackers. Swinney’s raved about how this change allows for maximum attention to every individual player.
A heavy Panthers presence at practice today as the local NFL team is holding its fan fest event at Memorial Stadium starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The event commemorates the Panthers’ inaugural 1995 season, played in Clemson as their stadium was built, and 30th season overall. Swinney met with first-year Panthers coach Dave Canales before Clemson started practice Thursday, and Panthers owner David Tepper and his Nicole dropped in during the stretching portion of Tigers practice.
As per usual, Clemson blasted Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” as practice got underway. Later in the session: “Dirt On My Boots” by John Pardi and “CARNIVAL” from rappers Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign.
