Cervenka confident he will be a starter in the fall
By: katie-florio April 13, 2018

As Clemson wraps up spring football practice and gets ready for the annual Orange & White Spring game Saturday at Death Valley, redshirt sophomore Gage Cervenka is eager to get on the field and show what he is capable of.

Cervenka, who redshirted as a defensive tackle made the switch to the offensive line in August of 2016 and then served as the backup center to Justin Falcinelli last season.

“I feel way better (on the offensive line) than I did last year,” Cervenka said Wednesday after practice. “I felt good last year, but I was still a little nervous, so to speak, to get in there. I was going into a little over a year at that position, granted I’d never played it before, but this year I feel a lot more comfortable.

“I feel like I know more about the game as an offensive lineman. Granted, I’ve played defense so I kind of know both of it, but I feel a lot better. I feel like I can actually go out there, perform and play loose to my best ability.”

The Greenwood, S.C., native is confident through his play this spring he has shown the coaches he is ready to be a starter on the offensive line.

“I really think I will (start), either at center or guard,” he said. “Wherever I can be productive, wherever they need me, I’m glad to go out there, but I think I can go out there and really help out the team.”

Although it’s now April, the Sugar Bowl is still in the back of Cervenka’s mind. Even though the loss to Alabama back in January is long gone, Cervenka took a picture of the final score that night to give him motivation going into this upcoming season.

“I honestly think about (that game) a lot,” he said. “I actually took a picture of the stats. It was on the board when we were walking out so I have that saved on my phone. Every once in a while I go look back at it.

“It shows that we had some low, crazy amount of rushing yards. It’s unbelievable how terrible it was. But I definitely use that as motivation to get better, to be more physical and I think that’s the thing that has helped me out more this spring with my physicality.”