TheClemsonInsider.com caught up with Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris following Saturday’s practice.  Coach Morris was pleased with the first two days of practice, but is eager to see his team when the hitting starts.

“We are not near ready to play, but our goal today was to be better than we were yesterday.  I think without a doubt we achieved that goal.  We had to have a starting point and that is the biggest thing we stressed to them is where are we going to start this thing?  We had a gauge yesterday and a starting point and today we got better.  We are still a long way away.  We are just in pads.  All we can control is our effort and our intensity.  I thought it was really good today.  If they were giving out shorts All-Americans we have quite a few of them out there today,” said Morris.

Even though Sammy will sit out the first two games, he will still be the starter in practice.

“We are going to prepare like we normally prepare.  Sammy is  our guy in there and we have Adam that rolls in and we got other guys that will be rolling in.  There will be a plan in place for it but we have to get guys ready to play.  This is about the long haul,” said Morris.

Shaq Anthony is one of the players that has been a pleasant surprise so far for the staff in camp.

“Right now looking at it after just two days of practice there are always surprises.  That is the great thing about camp.  That is one thing about spring ball and fall camp there are always surprises.  You just want to make sure they are good surprises.  Shaq Anthony right now, a guy we saw yesterday, was different than he was in the spring.  What does that mean.  It means he did pretty good in shorts and a shirt.  He had another good day today.  I challenge him and we hope it will transition over when the pads start hitting,” said Morris.

What are coach Morris’ first impressions of true freshman Germone Hopper?

“Fast, very fast.  Very quick, very fast and explosive.  He can definitely make some plays.  There is not doubt about it.  Doesn’t know what he is doing, what play to run but what he does do he runs fast.  We are going to get him there.  It is the second day of camp for him.  We are extremely excited about him and his future.  Where will he be at the end of fall camp we don’t know that but we do know there is a lot of potential right there,” replied Morris.

True freshman Chad Kelly has also been impressive his first two days.

“Chad is another one.  As a true freshman he has all of the tools.  He is extremely athletic.  He has a live arm and throws the ball really well.  He is a student of the game.  He has a great future ahead for him but again he is in his second day.  We got a lot installed in the first two days so there was a lot thrown at him but he is doing a good job with it.  Again it will be interesting to see where he is at the end of fall camp,” said Morris.

Zac Brooks has progressed over the summer and is expected to play this year.

“Zac came through spring ball so he is a little more advanced than some of these freshmen.  He has gained some weight and looks good.  Some things he has to work on are ball security after two days of practice.  We have to make sure his ball security is where it needs to be and stress the importance of it.  But he is going to be a guy that is going to have to contribute this year.  He has to know his role and be able to step in and play.  He is a big kid and gives us a bigger back so we are excited about that,” said Morris.

Tajh has also made some impressive strides over the summer.

“I think Tajh after coming out of spring and coming out of summer I was real interested to see where Tajh would be starting fall camp as far as his mental state of mind and his physical state of mind.  What I have seen in two days has been a huge improvement over what he was in the spring.  He had to.  He needed to progress to be the quarterback he wants to be and the quarterback we want him to be,” said Morris.