By Will Vandervort.
There is a lot of excitement for the 2015 football season at Clemson. As I write this, the Dabo Swinney and his coaching staff are putting the finishing touches on a top 5 recruiting class. The Tigers already have 12 members of the class already in school so the future is looking even better.
On the field, the Tigers return quarterback Deshaun Watson, running back Wayne Gallman and wide receivers Artavis Scott and Mike Williams. The defense has a few holes to fill with eight starters gone from a defense that led the nation in total defense, ranked second in passing defense, third in scoring defense and fifth in rushing defense.
So below are three storylines for the 2015 football season.
Deshaun Watson’s knee and the quarterback position. There is no getting around the fact that Watson is a special player, not just quarterback. He throws the ball effortlessly. He has great pocket awareness and he is very elusive. He is also an extremely accurate passer with a strong arm. His biggest attribute is his leadership and his ability to stay calm. The question however is this, how will Watson be physically when he returns for summer workouts. Recovering from a torn ACL various for different people. Sam Cooper and Chad Kelly seemed to do it fine in 2012. It took them both less than six months and a lot of work to get back. Wide receiver Charone Peake, however, took nearly the whole season to get back to full strength after he had knee surgery in 2013, while safety Travis Blanks decided to redshirt the 2014 season because he felt he was not entirely ready to compete and play at a high level on his knee. Watson seems to be doing okay since having surgery last month. He was already off his crutches two weeks after surgery and from what we understand his rehab is ahead of schedule. But Clemson has to prepare this spring as if its Superman will not be here and that means getting freshmen quarterbacks Kelly Bryant and Tucker Israel ready to play. This spring, the two early enrollees will be asked to do a little more than most freshmen because of the added importance of having a quarterback ready to play if Watson is unable to go or gets hurt again.
Replacing defensive end Corey Crawford. I know it sounds crazy, but replacing Corey Crawford at defensive end might be the hardest thing for defensive coordinator Brent Venables and the Tigers to do this spring. Though the Tigers will feel the absence of All-American defensive end Vic Beasley, All-ACC defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and All-ACC linebacker Stephone Anthony, they still have someone ready to step up and fill in those positions. Defensive end Shaq Lawson, defensive tackles D.J. Reader and Carlos Watkins and linebacker Ben Boulware have all made significant contributions and plays in their careers and should be able to step in and fill in those holes adequately. But who is there to replace Crawford? Think about the Georgia game this past season. The Bulldogs ran to the Tigers strongside all afternoon with Crawford suspended and they killed a defense that with Crawford the final 12 games allowed the fewest rushing yards of any team in the country. Crawford may not have made all the flashy plays and got all the sacks like Beasley did, but he was strong in stopping the run. He had very good technique and he always did his job. I’m sure Clemson might have someone ready to step in a fill Crawford’s spot, but right now we don’t know who that person is.
What about Pinion, who will replace him? Losing Bradley, who declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft earlier this week, is perhaps the biggest loss for the Tigers this season. Besides former kicker Chandler Catanzaro, Pinion has been the most consistent part of Clemson’s special teams the last three years. He has also been the defense’s best weapon. Pinion, who played as a first-year freshman in 2012, served as Clemson’s punter and handled kickoffs each of the last two seasons and was a big reason the Tigers were strong on special teams during that time. Clemson had a 21-5 record the last two years, including a 10-3 mark in 2014. Pinion averaged 42.6 yards per punt, fifth-best in the ACC, in 2014. He had 28 punts inside the 20 to lead the ACC and break his own school record for a season. He also had 17 punts of 50+ yards, tied for third-most in the ACC, and just two touchbacks. Pinion finished the 2014 season with a net punting average of 40.3, sixth-best in Tiger history and the second-best mark by a Tiger since 1984. He had five punts for a 43.4-yard average in his final game, the Tigers’ 40-6 victory over Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl. He also handled kickoffs and had 36 touchbacks on his 74 kickoffs in 2014. He had 102 touchbacks in 178 career kickoffs.