Over the next few weeks, we will take a look at each position on the football team to examine where each player stands right now in his group on the depth chart. We will look back on the 2015 season for analysis and attempt to forecast what the 2016 depth chart might look like in a few months, including early thoughts on the mid-year enrollees. Today, we continue with a look at the center position…
- Jay Guillermo, RS Sr.
This time a year ago, Guillermo was fighting off his personal demons, unsure if he would ever play college football again. Now, heading into his fifth season at Clemson, the veteran center is entrenched as an integral part of Clemson’s offensive line. More than that, though, Guillermo seems ready to ascend into a new role as both the physical and emotional leader of the line.
Guillermo’s grit and toughness are critical to his success. He isn’t considered a tremendously gifted pro prospect, but his reliability and consistency are reminiscent of guys like Thomas Austin and Kyle Young who came before him. The Tennessean has a flip-the-switch mentality that transforms him from a friendly face off the field to a ferocious fireball between the lines.
There is no unseating Guillermo. He brings so much stability, as a matter of fact, that his backups will likely spend a great deal of time at either guard position in anticipation of a greater need at those slots. Guillermo will enter the 2016 season as the best center in the ACC with an eye on All-America honors.
- Justin Falcinelli, RS So.
Falcinelli will likely maintain his designation as a guard on the roster, but he spent time at center in 2015 after Ryan Norton’s nagging injury issues kept him off the field for an extended period of time. Perhaps no player received more seemingly out-of-nowhere praise from Dabo Swinney than Falcinelli a season ago as he earned the confidence of his coaches little by little.
If anything should happen to Guillermo, my hunch is that Falcinelli would get the first look as a long-term replacement. He must continue to work on snapping the ball and making the reads he will have to make, but the ability to grow into a role seems to be in Falcinelli’s DNA.
- Zach Giella, RS Fr.
There was only one player listed on Clemson’s 2015 roster as a center. Giella was that guy, a testament more to the position he was originally recruited to play than his actual future in a Clemson uniform. Still, the Georgia native probably looks to play a great deal at center in 2016, especially if injury necessitates a full-time move to guard for Falcinelli.
Former offensive coordinator Chad Morris saw Giella as a center, but he spent some time at tackle during his redshirt season in 2015. Conventional wisdom says that was more about cross-training than a permanent position shift. However, that experience could give the coaching staff something to think about in a pinch. Giella seems likely to get onto the field in some capacity in 2016, but he will have to leapfrog some veterans in order to get consistent snaps in tight contests.
God Bless!
WQ