By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

Ryan Norton has spent a good portion of the off-season with Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd. They spend several hours on days that they are not practicing watching film. Other times, they are in meetings or working together on the field.

It’s all been a part of the process – a process that takes a lot of time, energy and hard work to become the Tigers’ starting center.

“Tajh and I really have a good relationship right now,” Norton said. “The more we communicate the better. We may go watch film together so we can get that bond. That helps him know what I will call and it helps me with what he will call.

“We mesh together pretty good. It’s so we can read each other’s mind sort of.”

It’s also so Norton can win the starting job. Norton, along with freshman Jay Guillermo, is battling to replace Dalton Freeman at center.

Over the last four years, Freeman earned All-American honors both on the field and in the classroom, while taking more snaps than any other player in Clemson history. He played in 52 games and started a school record 49 of them.

“He was a very good technician and was very good with his feet,” Norton said about Freeman. “He knew everything about this offense and I’m trying to fill this gap the best I can.”

Norton is trying to fill it by studying Chad Morris’ offense as much as he can, and by watching as much film as possible. The two have even had several one-on-ones so Norton has a better understanding of what Morris expects from his center.

“I have been very pleased with Ryan,” Morris said. “He provides us with a lot of toughness up front. When you had Dalton in there, and he took all of the snaps over the last few years, it is hard to replace that type of veteran leadership.

“Ryan got some reps last year, but it is a growing process with him and we have to push him. It is going really well and I think he is going to be a really good ball player with time.”

Last year, Ryan played in 12 games, nine at either center or guard, while taking 277 snaps. His season-high came against Furman when he had 55 snaps. He also had 49 against Ball State and 46 at Duke.

Norton feels the leadership Freeman provided will be the toughest thing for him, or anyone else for that matter, to replace this season. He isn’t naïve; he understands he is going to have to prove himself on the field to earn the respect of his teammates.

Once he can do that, the leadership will take care of itself.

“I’m going to try and be as vocal as I can so that might get people behind me,” he said. “They may not be behind me to start, but after I prove myself, I think they will.”

It should help that Norton is playing one of the most important positions on the field, and what he does is a direct reflection of what the offense does.

“The faster I can move and get to the ball, the better,” the sophomore said. “That sets everything else up. I tell them to hurry up. When we do that, the faster we can go and the more snaps we can get per game.

“It is also the cadences. If it is on a now-snap, then it tells me how fast I can snap the ball. It is just the little things that add up.”

Being he is the only new starter on the offensive line this spring, Norton does not feel awkward at all. Right now he is watching a lot of film and is trying to understand what everyone else’s role up front is so he can have a better understanding of what they do.

“I know what I’m doing and when I know what everyone else is doing, I feel more comfortable at the center position,” he said. “I can tell someone else what they need to do in case they don’t know.

“Overall, it makes me more comfortable about playing. It makes me play faster.”

And if Norton is playing fast, then the Clemson offense will be going fast.