The season is underway with a 49-10 win over Wofford.  The battles for the depth chart reach a new level.

Each week TCI will look at the players moving up and those that are moving down in the Up Downs feature.  Which players are elevating their game and their position on the depth chart?

Up

Charone Peake – Charone was already a starter, but with William’s injury Peake role will increase.  Peake will move to Williams position.  Peake will now get more targets in the offense.

The offseason was a good one for Peake as he showed he is ready to return to the form he showed before his  knee injury.  He had two catches for 12 yards against Wofford.  Look for those numbers to improve this week and the rest of the season.

Deon Cain – Another player who will see his role in the offense increase with Williams out is Deon Cain.  Cain’s development will accelerate as he will now get more opportunities.

Cain had three catches in the opener and just missed a couple of touchdowns.  Look for Cain to get better as the season progresses.  As he gains experience and confidence he will become a major weapon for the offense.

Zac Brooks – One of the pleasant surprises Saturday was the performance of Zac Brooks.  After missing a lot of the preseason due to injury Brooks made the most of his opportunities in the opener.  He had seven carries for 52 yards including a 25  yard touchdown run where he broke a number of tackles.

With performances like that Brooks will see his carries increase.

Jay Guillermo – When Ryan Norton went out with a knee injury Guillermo came in and the offensive line didn’t miss a beat.  Guillermo had beat out Norton at center last season before he went down with an injury.

We will have to see who wins the battle going forward, but Guillermo is ready to be the guy if the coaches decide to go in that direction.

Artavis Scott – We are including Artavis this week for special teams.  Scott made it clear Saturday that he should be option one for kickoff returns and punt returns.  Scott had 39 yards on kickoff returns and 22 on punt returns.

Coach Swinney confirmed this week that Scott is going to be a key player on returns moving forward.

Downs

Mike Williams – The most important news on Williams is that he is okay and will be able to play football again.  Williams will miss at least six games from the information we received the last few days.

Ryan Norton – Ryan returned to practice this week, but did take himself out at the end of practice on Wednesday.  Coach Swinney said he as not sure why in the interviews after practice.  He is officially listed as questionable for this weekend.  If he remains out for a while it may open the door for Guillermo to win the starting center job.