By Will Vandervort.
So how did Clemson do the first half of the 2014 football season? Like we do each week following a football game, The Clemson Insider has graded the 22nd ranked Tigers production at every position through the first six weeks of the season.
Quarterback: B
Deshaun Watson was outstanding before he broke his finger on his throwing hand last week, while Cole Stoudt has been okay. Stoudt is not going to lose a game for you, but from what we have seen in the first half of the season, he is not going to win a game for you either. Before playing the top-ranked defense in the country, Clemson led the ACC in passing yards (306 yds/gm) and currently ranks second. That’s impressive considering the Tigers have played top 10 foes Florida State and Georgia on the road, while Louisville is without a doubt the best defense they will see all year. If the Tigers get past Boston College—another very good defense—on Saturday, you will see production at this position continue to get better.
Running backs: D
I hate to be so harsh, but there has not been any consistency at all from the running back position this year. The loss of Zac Brooks before the season started hurt the running game more than anyone thought. It also does not help that perhaps the most talented player in the group—Tyshon Dye—has watched from the sidelines as well as he recovers from a torn Achilles he suffered last February. There is a chance Dye could make his Clemson debut in the next month. But for right now, Clemson ranks 12th in rushing offense in the 14-team ACC, at 141.2 yards per game, and that is not going to get it done. Freshman Adam Choice, who leads the team with 205 yards, is starting to show a little more consistency with his opportunities than Wayne Gallman, C.J. Davidson and D.J. Howard have with theirs. Choice carried the ball eight times for 41 yards in Clemson’s final drive in last week’s win over Louisville after wearing down an NC State defense in the fourth quarter the week before.
Wide receivers: B
This group has had a case of the drops a few times this year, but for the most part they have exceeded expectations to this point in the season. Sophomore Mike Williams ranks second in the ACC in yards per game with a 90.5 yard average. He leads Clemson with 543 yards and is second in the ACC in yards per catch at 24.7 yards. Williams has caught four touchdowns to lead the team. Freshman Artavis Scott ranks sixth in the ACC in catches per game at 4.7 and leads the Tigers with 28 overall for 371 yards and three scores. Sophomore Germone Hopper has also developed into a big-play threat with nine receptions for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Five of his nine catches have been for 20 yards or more. The receivers, overall, have done a good job in run blocking, but they can stand to get better, while drops have raised its ugly head in games against Georgia and Louisville. Against Louisville, Williams and Hopper dropped what potentially could have been touchdown passes. Williams also dropped three crucial passes at Georgia. Veterans Adam Humphries and Charone Peake have been ineffective in the passing game to this point. Though Humphries is starting to get better now that he is being used more as slot receiver in crossing patterns were he can utilize his strengths. Peake has missed the last three games and will miss another this week at Boston College as his knee continues to give him issues. He had it scoped last week to relieve some swelling in the surgically repaired knee.
Tight ends: C
Things did not start well when Sam Copper broke a small bone in his foot during warm ups prior to the Georgia game. Part of Clemson’s issues in the running game has come from the fact with Copper missing the first four games, the physicality at the position slipped dramatically. Jay Jay McCullough has been praised at times for the way he has played from a blocking standpoint, but Jordan Leggett and Stanton Seckinger have been inconsistent in those areas at best. From a pass-catching standpoint, Leggett, Seckinger and McCullough have not been as effective as one might hope. Leggett did get involved some against Louisville as he had three catches for 46 yards. Leggett has eight catches for 106 yards and a score, while McCullough has five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Seckinger has only four receptions for 49 yards and no touchdowns.
Offensive line: C
I know a lot of you probably want me to give this group a lower grade, but you have to consider what they have to work with. Already thin at depth at the tackle positions, Shaq Anthony quit the team just before the season started. Then Joe Gore begins to have troubles and it turns out he was suffering from a bad appendix, which he had to get removed prior to the NC State game. To make matters worse, reserve center Jay Guillermo—who was playing well—broke a bone in his foot and he will miss at least the next three games after missing the Louisville game, too. With all of this, Clemson has moved Kalon Davis from right guard to right tackle to compensate for the injuries, while Reid Webster has come in and is now the starter at right guard, the backup at right tackle, the backup at center and is the backup at left guard. Last week, Clemson played all five starters the entire game against a Louisville defensive front that is one of the best in the country. Now, there has been some bad play at times as well from the O-line and that has to be addressed. Ryan Norton has struggled at center, but he played much better against Louisville. Isaiah Battle has been inconsistent at left tackle and though Webster is versatile, he should not be anyone’s best player at any position on the offensive line.
Defensive line: A
I don’t know if there is a better collective group in the country than Clemson’s defensive front. Defensive end Vic Beasley leads the ACC and ranks third nationally in sacks with eight. He has already set the all-time sack record at Clemson with 29 and with at least six games left in the season that record should grow. After leading the country in tackles for loss last year, the Tigers rank second this year with 52. Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett leads this group in tackles with 31. Fellow defensive tackle DeShawn Williams is not far behind with 23. Defensive end Corey Crawford has been great in run support as no team has rushed for more than 119 yards in any game since he returned from his one-game suspension at Georgia. Clemson’s run defense ranks 11th in the country at 100.5 yards per game. Only once in the last five games has an opponent got over 100 yards and that was just 119 against NC State in a 41-0 victory.
Linebackers: A
Stephone Anthony has been outstanding this year as has Tony Steward and what Ben Boulware did against Louisville was impressive. Anthony leads the Tigers with 42 tackles from his middle backer position, including 7.5 tackles for loss, four passes broken up and six quarterback pressures. Steward has 30 tackles and has six quarterback pressures. Boulware has 24 tackles, three tackles for loss, including one sack. He had 10 tackles and three tackles for loss in last week’s win over Louisville as he started and played for Steward, who was out with a hamstring injury.
Secondary: B
Why a “B” grade? There is still room for improvement and we have seen breakdowns at times in games against Florida State—though it was slip—North Carolina and against Louisville. But for the most part, this group has been pretty consistent. Safety Jayron Kearse ranks second on the team with 38 tackles, while he also has six PBUs, one interception and a sack. Robert Smith has also been pretty consistent on the back end. The senior safety has 36 tackles and two quarterback pressures to go with a half-sack. Freshman Mackensie Alexander has emerged as a shutdown corner and with defenses trying to pick on Garry Peters on the other side, the senior has stepped and become the best tackler of the group. He is having an All-ACC season with 24 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble, four PBUs and a quarterback pressure. His strip sack in the second quarter resulted in a Clemson touchdown and it proved to be the difference in the game.
Special teams: C
They have lost one game and won another. The good news is they are getting better. Punter Bradley Pinion and the punt coverage team has played well most of the year and is the most consistent group. Pinion is averaging 43.4 yards per punt with a net average of 39.3. He has also recorded 14 punts downed inside the 20-yard line to add to his record of 48 straight without a touchback. He has nine punts of 50 yards or more this season. Opponents are averaging 7.9 yards per return. Kicker Ammon Lakip is 11 of 15 on field goals this season and is 4 of 6 from 40 plus with a long of 45. But he is 1-for-3 in road games so he needs to improve there. The kickoff coverage team has been much better since the Georgia game where they allowed a 100-yard return. Teams are averaging just 20.8 yards per return and Pinion has recorded 22 touchbacks on 38 kicks. This has been a weak spot, along with kick returns, for Clemson since C.J. Spiller and Andre Ellington moved on to the pros. But Adam Humphries did something last week no one thought they might ever see. The senior return the game’s first punt 72 yards for a touchdown, which turned out to be huge. The Tigers are still just averaging 7.5 yards per return, while the kickoff return team is averaging only 17 yards a return.
Coaching: B
This is hard to grade because I think the offensive coaches are doing a good job getting the most they can out of a patchwork offensive line. Chad Morris and line coach Robbie Caldwell deserve credit for having the foresight that they might need to cross train their offensive linemen in the spring. That turned out to be a great idea considering all the injuries and such that have gone on up front in the first six weeks. Where the offensive coaches have failed—and I know hindsight is 20-20—but maybe Watson should have started from the beginning of the season or at the least at Florida State. Regardless, it cost Clemson at least one win. Some of the coaching decisions head coach Dabo Swinney made in the Louisville game needs to be mentioned as well, especially the decision to go for fourth-and-one at his own 40 in the third quarter. He needs to just let his defense win him games for him right now and not put them in any bad situations until Watson returns next month. Speaking of defense, defensive coordinator Brent Venables has drawn up some great schemes to stop the majority of the teams the Tigers have played this year. The Tigers rank sixth overall nationally in total defense at 286 yards a game. Clemson’s defense ranks in the top 10 nationally in seven different categories and four more rank in the top 20 overall.