By Will Vandervort.
Charone Peake has worked his way back into the rotation at wide receiver for 16th-ranked Clemson, now the question is how much will he help the Tigers when they visit No. 12 Georgia in the season opener on Aug. 30.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney told the media following Friday’s practice that Peake went through walkthroughs Thursday and then participated in individual drills Friday morning. The coaches will hold him out of the scrimmage on Saturday.
Peake, who had minor surgery two days before fall camp started, is coming back from a torn ACL during practice following the S.C. State game last year. He did not practice in the spring, but was cleared to work out in the summer.
“He has responded well and looks good,” Swinney said. “I’m anxious to get him back and get him going on Monday.”
No plan for Watson, yet. Swinney says he and offensive coordinator Chad Morris have not sat down and penciled in exactly what freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson is going to do against Georgia, but they know this much – they are going to play him.
“He is going to play and he will play whenever, I know that,” Swinney said. “He is not a guy that is going to be just a situational guy. When he plays, we can call anything. There is really nothing that we don’t feel like he can’t do. He is not a package guy. He is not, bring him in on short yardage. He is not one of those guys you only play him on this side of the field.
“He is really a guy that we have to get some experience. Cole (Stoudt) has done phenomenal, but so has Deshaun. We have to get him some experience. He has really done very well and has performed great. He has gotten better as camp has gone on and he has earned the opportunity to play some. I think when he plays he is going to perform well. I don’t have any doubt about it and we will not hold back. When he goes in there, it will be open playbook just like it would be when Cole is in there.”
Kick return specialist. Swinney reported that T.J. Green and C.J. Davidson have both taken the lead as the two best kick returners. Last year, Clemson averaged just 18.8 yards per return and its long was 35 yards.
“You have to have the right guys back there that will hit (the hole) and I really like what I have seen,” Swinney said. “T.J. Green has done a nice job for us and C.J. Davidson as well. We have some good candidates like Artavis Scott, who was another one, but we will start out with those two.”
The front five. Swinney says they probably will not dial in on a starting five on the offensive line until next week, though it seems like the coaching staff is feeling confident that Isaiah Battle (left tackle), Joe Gore (right tackle), Ryan Norton (center) and Kalon Davis (right guard) will fill in four of the spots.
Left guard, which would normally be occupied by David Beasley—who is suspended for the Georgia game—is the only real question mark left as to who might start against the Bulldogs.
“It will depend on what we do with Kalon,” Swinney said.
Davis can play both right and left guard, but the coaches feel more comfortable with Davis at right guard. That leaves Eric Mac Lain, Reid Webster and Tyrone Crowder all vying for the starting spot at left guard.
Jones is back. Swinney said linebacker Kellen Jones took off the green jersey on Friday and finally got to practice full speed for the first time in camp. The junior has only been doing non-contact drills the last two weeks as he finished his recovery from a torn ACL he suffered in the NC State game last year.
Since it was his first day back, Swinney says it was tough to judge how well he really did.
Second-line wide receivers. Kyrin Priester, Demarre Kitt and Scott continue to impress Swinney, wide receivers coach Jeff Scott and Morris.
“Those three guys are way, way, way better than they were in the spring as you would expect,” Swinney said.
As one might also expect, Trevion Thompson is struggling a little bit as he did not enroll in school until this summer.
“Trevion Thompson is a special talent and you can just see it. Talent just oozes out of him, but you can tell he just got here,” Swinney said. “Technically, mentally, fundamentally and all of the stuff, those other guys are just further along and are playing faster because Tre kind of hit the wall.”
Thompson had a good day on Friday and Swinney was glad to see that. He is scheduled to get a lot of work in Saturday’s scrimmage. No decision has been made on whether they will use Thompson or not.
Swinney also reported that Germone Hopper is having a great camp and that he is very proud of him. If you recall, Hopper was suspend from the second half of spring practice because he was not taking his job and role on the team very serious.
That’s not the case now.
“We have said from day one that we don’t doubt his talent and there is no question he can help us,” the Clemson head coach said. “That guy has done a good job of doing it the Clemson way. It is good to see him reap the benefits of doing it right.
“I’m proud of him. He has had a great camp. If he stays focused, he is going to have a great year for us.”
Movie night. Swinney said the team got a chance to go to a movie together Thursday night as they went and saw a special showing of “When the Game Stands Tall.” The movie is about the record-setting 151-game winning streak by De La Salle High School in California that lasted from 1992-2003.
“What a great movie that was and what a great message,” Swinney said. “It was really kind of perfect timing for our team to see that. It was really, really good.”