Despite the disappointing outcome in No. 7 Clemson’s 31-14 loss to sixth-ranked Tennessee in the 2022 Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 30, Clemson offensive lineman Will Putnam is proud of the way his unit showed up and battled against the Volunteers in Miami.
Putnam spoke with The Clemson Insider following the loss and detailed his thoughts on his team’s offensive performance and his message to those who think otherwise.
“Up front we played as hard as we could,” Putnam told TCI. “The name of the game up front is also kind of can we run the ball, and we ran the ball when we could. At the same time, we played what a hundred snaps, and we were playing against a great Tennessee team, so of course they’re going to have a couple of plays on us, and sure they get a couple of pressures and pass protections.”
Though Putnam and his offensive line gave it all they had, the Volunteers’ defense still seemed to cause problems, specifically in the red zone. With guys like linebacker Aaron Beasley and defensive lineman Byron Young wreaking havoc for Tennessee with a combined 15 tackles (six for loss), 4.0 sacks and a pass breakup, the Tigers were only able to come away with one touchdown drive — an issue that would prove to be costly in the end.
“Sometimes also though, that’s not always our fault either because sometimes people fail to recognize as well that we have certain pass protections where we’re expecting the ball to get out quick, and we don’t know necessarily what’s going on in the backfield, who’s running routes and all that,” the starting center said. “But up front, I’m very proud of this team, very proud of this offensive line. We battled really hard.”
Right in the middle of that battle was starting quarterback Cade Klubnik. With the true freshman at the helm, getting his first start in the Orange Bowl, Putnam was more than proud of his quarterback who he says left it all on the field and will lead the way to a bright future for this Clemson team moving forward.
“He played really, really hard, as he should,” Putnam said regarding his starting quarterback’s performance. “Anyone that steps on the field should play really hard, and that goes for us too. He played really hard as expected, really proud of him. He’s had a heck of a year between kind of stepping in at some points with D.J. and all that stuff, and I think between the last two games, he really stepped up and I’m really proud of him. I really can’t wait to see what he’s going to do in the years to come.”
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