By Ed McGranahan.

As aggravating as the questions became for Chad Morris over the weeks and months between the Orange Bowl and The Opener they continue to be valid entering Clemson’s game today with South Carolina State.

If not Sammy Watkins or Martavis Bryant or Tajh Boyd or even Rod McDowell, who are the offensive playmakers on this Clemson football
team?

Where were they at Georgia?

And, two weeks from Tallahassee, who among them might command respect from the Florida State defense, or any other Clemson faces? So the
overriding urgency for Clemson today would be to discover dependability and consistency from a mix of backs, receivers and tight ends with at
least a couple percolating to the surface as potential big game playmakers.

Running back C.J. Davidson was dependable but not spectacular at Georgia with 43 yards on 12 carries. Davidson said he probably was good for
another six to eight carries, but he’s never been featured back so it would be a new experience.

After dropping a couple early, Mike Williams caught three passes for 88 yards, yet his long arms and legs make him an appealing target. And
Charone Peake recovered from an early muff to catch a 30-yard touchdown pass in traffic.

But where were all the backs and receivers? And what happened at tight end?

“We’ve got playmakers,” Coach Dabo Swinney insisted. “I think you’re going to see more of those guys as we go through.”

Part of the problem was the relative inexperience across the board.  Peake and Adam Humphries are in his fourth year with the program,
Davidson is a junior. While the promise virtually poured onto the practice field in August, there was always the potential that one or two
mistakes early could result in huge setbacks. Peake was more than a year recovering his confidence after a couple of mistakes his freshman
season.

“There’s a fine line with young guys, and you can set them back or stunt their growth if you put them out there and they aren’t ready,” Morris
said. “They lose confidence and it takes time to build that confidence back. You try to manage that as much as you can.”

In time, perhaps today, freshman running backs Wayne Gallman, Adam Choice and Kurt Fleming will be turned loose on an unsuspecting defense.  “Some of these guys it was their first time to play,” Swinney said. “You don’t know how they’re going to respond.”

Gallman was a messenger back in a wing T scheme in high school so there’s a lot of tread on his tires and he’s a capable receiver. An
option quarterback in high school, Choice runs violently, perhaps similarly to James Davis. Fleming, at 230 pounds, returned to football
when his pro baseball career lost traction, so there’s a personal urgency to accelerate the clock.

Sophomore Germone Hopper and freshmen Artavis Scott and Demarre Kitt are oozing potential. Hopper, in particular, must prove he’s worthy after spending the spring in Swinney’s doghouse. Scott’s leaping 35-yarder at Georgia was the play of the day, and Kitt just needs to see the ball
once. The depth thinned slightly during the week went Kyrin Priester, who enrolled in January with Scott and Kitt, was dismissed from the
team.

“I really like the look in Demarre Kitt’s and Artavis Scott’s eyes,” Swinney said. “I thought they were ready and not overwhelmed with the
moment.”

Junior Stanton Seckinger and sophomore J.J. McCullough each caught short passes, but the tight ends were largely non-factors in the passing game.  Swinney conceded, “we didn’t involve them as much as we like,” specifically with Seckinger and sophomore Jordan Leggett, another with
an abundance of skill but a drifting attention span.

If any of them had emerged in the second half to ease the pressure of debilitating field position. Morris admitted taking a conservative
approach for fear it would dig an insurmountable hole, but he expected somebody would make a play.

“What really shocked me was our inability to create any momentum in the second half,” he said.

“I was thinking all we needed was a spark, get a first down, one leads to two and here we go again,” he said. “You’re just trying to create
some momentum.

“I kept telling guys, one first down and we’ll take a shot.”

It was like playing with water pistols.

Ideally the quarterback would be a playmaker, too, though even the best teams didn’t have quarterback with arms like Jameis and feet like
Johnny.

For cryin’ out loud, Greg McElroy and A.J. McCarron won national championships at Alabama, so until the season turns desperate, junk the
notion that Clemson needs to replace Cole Stoudt with Deshaun Watson.

“You’ll see a lot of guys mature and develop,” Swinney said reassuringly. “One game you can’t judge a season or a whole football
team.

“We’re going to improve as a football team.”