By Kaila Burns-Heffner.

In Clemson’s 34-20 victory over Wake Forest, the 17th-ranked Tigers accounted for eight total penalties that gifted the Demon Deacons 75 yards. One of those penalties was a targeting call on senior safety Robert Smith. Although the ruling of that call is highly questionable, it cannot change the fact that Smith was ejected from the game and will be forced to sit out the first half of this Saturday’s game at No. 23 Georgia Tech.

The loss of Smith for this game is detrimental for Clemson. To date, the senior has accounted for 53 tackles and brings a wealth of experience. The Tigers will be happy to have him playing again in the second half, but his replacement is eagerly preparing for the opportunity that he now has.

Sophomore T.J. Green is next in the line and will be starting for the first time in his career against Georgia Tech. Green also had to fill in for Smith after his ejection at the start of the fourth quarter last Thursday night in Winston-Salem and after Smith was injured in the second half at Boston College on Oct. 18.

Although Green mainly contributes to special teams, there have been times in the season where he has had to step up and take over the safety position. So far, he has totaled 21 tackles over 115 snaps, and eight of those came from the Boston College game after he had to take over for the injured Smith.

“You’ve got to watch film and prepare like the starter every week, because you never know when the opportunity will come,” said Green.

Green came to Clemson as a wide receiver out of high school, but made the switch to the defensive side of the ball after last season. His experience playing offense, especially playing in a triple option offense in high school may help him as he prepares for playing against Georgia Tech’s similar offensive approach.

“When we’re watching film, I can tell sometimes by where the receiver lines up what kind of route it is,” Green said. “Sometimes, when we’re practicing against our own offense, I can hint the play to our defense.”

However, Green is focused on preparing himself for the opportunity to start in the secondary against a top 25 team on the road.

“Its different from high school than in college,” the sophomore said. “Its going to take a lot of film studying and just spending time here at the stadium just watching everything they do and getting my eyes ready to play them.”

“I’ve just got to be disciplined with my eyes, that’s the main thing, just be disciplined,” he continued.

The Georgia Tech game is a very important game for the Tigers as they have had some past difficulty being successful against the Yellow Jackets on the road. Clemson will miss having one of their defensive leaders for half of this game, but Smith will help to mentor Green and prepare him for his first start of the season.

“I’m pretty sure this week we will talk a lot, and he will go over everything with me to make sure I’ve got it down,” Green said. “It’ll be a tough team to game plan against, but I think we’re ready for the opportunity to go out there and show why we’re one of the top defenses in the nation. I believe that we’ve got a lot of discipline back there.”