By Will Vandervort.
It’s not often Chad Morris gets out coached, but that’s exactly what happened last year when 16th-ranked Clemson faced a Jeremy Pruitt defense.
In the only meeting between the two coordinators, Pruitt’s Florida State defense held Morris’ Clemson offense to 326 total yards and 14 points – the fourth worst output with Morris in charge of the Clemson offense.
So what did Morris do different? Why was Pruitt the only coach that had an answer for former quarterback Tajh Boyd and wide receiver Sammy Watkins in 2013?
One reason is because Pruitt likes to throw out a much leaner and faster defense on the field that can match up well against today’s fast-tempo spread offenses. From everything Morris has heard Pruitt is doing the same thing at Georgia.
When the Tigers meet the 12th-ranked Bulldogs this Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN, Pruitt’s defense will resemble a lot of what Clemson saw from the Seminoles last October.
“They have moved some guys around and they have some guys that were starters that are not starting and guys that were starters are going to start, but other guys are going to play, too. That’s that unknown you really don’t know about,” Morris said. “There has been a big emphasis there.”
There is a difference, however. Pruitt does not have any Christian Jones, Mario Edwards, Jalen Ramsey or Lamarcus Joyner on his Georgia team. At least not yet.
Joyner was the key element in Pruitt’s scheme against Clemson last year and was a nuisance. He caused a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and later prevented a touchdown with an interception deep in Florida State territory. He also had eight tackles.
The caused fumble came on a safety blitz where Joyner rolled down to the line of scrimmage and came untouched off the edge, stripping Boyd of the ball, which Edwards returned 37 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 at the time. On the play, Joyner and the outside linebacker blitz off one side while the corner and safety rolled to accommodate the blitz.
Boyd never saw it nor was Clemson able to adjust to it. Joyner’s interception came off the same scheme later in the game.
“They try to create ways to create confusion,” right guard Kalon Davis said. “There is a lot of stuff we are looking at. They will go odd (front) with a stand-up end so it is still a big man, but they have two people that they can go with, which are very special for their defense.”
Those two guys are linebackers Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins. They switch from left to right. They switch on who is standing up and who is standing down. They will even drop them back in coverage.
“Of course we have to watch Georgia as personnel and see what their tendencies are. We study them as a person. But for scheme, we have to go to Florida State (games) so it is kind of a combination and we have watched both.”
There is one thing Morris says will not change. Pruitt will ask cornerbacks Damian Swann and Devin Bowman and the rest of the cornerbacks to press Clemson’s receivers.
Though Georgia has an inexperienced secondary thanks to a few departures and some disciplinary issues, Morris doesn’t think that is going to deter Pruitt from doing what he does any more than Morris doing what he does despite having a brand new corps of wide receivers and a first-year starter at quarterback.
“They are going to be who they are and we are going to be who we are,” the Clemson coach said. “Jeremy has shown he really likes to pressure and they pressured all year long at FSU. I don’t think he really cares who he plays. He is going to do what he does.
“I can see him, especially with a new quarterback, we are expecting him to bring pressure and press us on the outside.”
And maybe this time the Tigers will have better results when that pressure comes.