After a full weekend of events that included Clemson’s annual “Fan Day” on Sunday, the second-ranked Tigers hit the practice field again on Monday evening. Head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media along with a few players to update the status of injuries, depth chart moves and game prep for Auburn.
Here is what we heard:
Swinney along with his players are excited to finally shift the focus to preparing for Auburn with less than two weeks until the 9 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 3 at Auburn.
“We are game planning from this point on. We will still have some good-on-good mixed into each practice to kind of keep everybody sharp and the speed of the game, kind of that fast ball,” Swinney said. “We still have a lot of work we have to get done against each other, but it is all game plan and really trying to get dialed in physically and mentally to get ready for this opponent.”
Swinney said he knows Clemson has a target on its back coming into the season.
“Guys want to knock us off, and that’s how it should be. Auburn is definitely a team that is capable of doing it. They’re a really solid team, so we are embracing the target, coming out every day and preparing with a purpose. Preparing like we’re playing tomorrow,” Swinney said.
Center Jay Guillermo said the matchup with Auburn’s strong defensive line will be challenging, but he is ready to see how Clemson’s hard work over the summer translates in a game.
“It’s going to be a really good challenge. That’s going to be our first game and really the test to see how we’ve done over the summer,” the All-ACC center said.
As far as the depth chart goes, Swinney still isn’t sure who the clear-cut No. 2 running back will be. Adam Choice has certainly proved himself throughout fall camp, but they are all still pushing one another.
“They’re still battling. Some days he’s the clear-cut No. 2, some days he’s not. I think they’re all the No. 2 from my standpoint. I’m always curious to see who Tony (Elliott) is going to run out there because I like them all,” Swinney said. “Gallman is coaching those guys to grind to be great and they’re buying in.”
On the injury front, Clemson has both good news and bad news. Cornerback Marcus Edmond finally returned to practice after missing most of the fall with a hamstring injury.
“He has not really cut it loose in a while so we were really cautious with him today,” Swinney said. “He did some man-to-man and he did all of his individual work. Hopefully, each day he can push it a little bit more and more.”
Defensive tackle Carlos Watkins has decided to play through the pain after injuring his wrist last week. Watkins has a protective air cast on, but he is determined to continue to play.
“He looked good. He was flying around today,” Guillermo said. “I know it is hard to come back after you have not done a whole lot. I did that during camp whenever I came back from my concussion. But he is a guy that works hard and no doubt he is going to be ready to go.”
The bad news is that one of offensive lineman, freshman Chandler Reeves, may have seriously injured his knee. Swinney is still waiting for an exact diagnosis, but the initial thought was a torn ACL.
“They never know until they get in there. When Byron Maxwell was here they thought he tore his ACL, but when he got in there, it was not torn,” Swinney said. “So MRIs are not always right or conclusive, but that is the initial thought…I really hate that. But it is better to do that now than in November. We will get started on the rehab and get that young man back and he’ll be better than ever.”