By Heath Bradley.
Clemson Offensive Coordinator Chad Morris met with the media following practice Tuesday evening to discuss the Tigers 10th day of practice of the 2012 season. The Tigers are one day closer to playing Auburn to open up the season, and Chad Morris wants everyone to understand that the Tigers offense is on the right track, but there is always room to improve.
“We are getting there. There is still a long way to go. We have some guys we have challenged, and they are doing a good job responding. The effort is good; we just have to keep putting them in adverse situations right now. We are reaching those dog days of fall camp and it is our job as coaches to keep pushing, keep grinding, and pushing them through it. Right now that is exactly where we are with them. No one should feel at easy, no one at any position. Our job right now is to make them feel uneasy,” said Morris.
The Tigers had their first scrimmage of the fall this past Saturday. After reviewing the film, and two more days of practice correcting mistakes, Chad Morris is pleased overall with the play of the offense.
“We had a good first scrimmage, about what we expected on a first scrimmage. We had some good things, but we had some bad things. We had too many penalties, which is very uncharacteristic of us from an upfront bunch. Those are things that we have to correct for tomorrow’s scrimmage. It was a good first scrimmage, a good start,” said Morris.
Coaches and players each play a critical role in preparing players for the upcoming season. Morris believes that at this point in camp, the coaches have done an excellent job in prepping the players for the rigors of the upcoming season.
“It is our job to keep pushing them and keep driving them. Keep straining them; these guys need to be strained. Right now that is one thing we are doing a really good job of. Coach Swinney is doing a really good job putting us in adverse situations and that is what we need,” said Morris.
Less than three weeks from game day, this week of practice will be big into determining the Tiger final depth chart. Players have the opportunity to players have the opportunity to play their way in and out of the starting lineup, and coaches are putting extra heat on players to step up and separate themselves. “It is like Saturday at the Masters. That is exactly the term I use with them, quarterbacks and all. This is a big week for a lot of these guys. There is a lot of pressure. We try to put them in adverse situations and add that pressure on top of them to see how they are responding. Some of them are really stepping up and others are letting it get to them. It is a big week, a week that you will see a lot of moving and shaking going on.”
Morris went on to discuss that no player should feel safe in his current depth chart position. “Everybody’s job right now is uneasy and it needs to be. It is not happiness camp, some guys get that in their mindset that it could be happiness camp and it is not that. We are pushing these guys, driving them and straining them. There are a lot of guys of are jockeying, being fired and rehired, that is the way you do it right now. I tell you they are giving effort and we have to keep pushing.”
One position race that is incredibly heated right now is the race for backup quarterback. Through ten days of practice all three players seem to be deadlocked, with Chad Kelly recently giving a big push. “There is not any separation. It is pretty tight knit right now. It is a true three-man race right now, without a doubt. If anything I can say, Chad Kelly is pushing some guys. He is really pushing some guys.”
The Tigers will retake the practice field tomorrow morning for a situation scrimmage. According to Morris, the scrimmage will focus on a lot of goal line situations, a portion of the game that the offense looks to improve on greatly from last season. “Any short yardage and goal line situation is big. We try to take great pride in that. That is an area we have focused on from last year that we have to improve on in trying to be the championship caliber team that we want to be. Anytime we get a chance to practice that, that is something big for us. We practiced on that today. There were some good things; there were some bad things. We have to keep working, keep improving.” The coaching staff will be looking to place more stress on the players during the scrimmage, hoping to prepare them for game days early in the season. “It is a situational scrimmage, I hope it is really hot and the wind is not blowing. We need that type of environment right now to go along with the type of pressure that is being placed on those guys.”
Jay Jay McCullough has arrived on campus and participated for the first time with the Tigers this afternoon. He is currently in his acclimation period, due to NCAA rules, but Chad Morris is happy to just finally have him cleared and in town. “He is out there in his shorts. He has to go through five days of shorts and helmets to get ready. Is he in shape? Not the type of shape we need him in, but he is here. He is so far behind, but we are glad he is here.”