CHARLOTTE — The pair of head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive line coach Thomas Austin raved about the Clemson offensive line unit at the 2023 Clemson Media Outing. One of the interesting comments made was Swinney proclaiming that the Tigers could roll out with a 10-man rotation to toy with throughout the season.

While the coaches are playing with their deck, center Will Putnam is the anchor of the unit and rightfully so. During the 2023 ACC Kickoff, he discussed the depth of the unit.

Smiling about what this offensive line can bring to the table, he said that he feels like this is the best group Clemson has rolled out with in a long time.

“I think our offensive line depth is probably the most I’ve seen since 2019,” Putnam said. “We got a lot of dudes up front, right, and a lot of experience, and I think that’s the biggest difference to that. Maybe some people may not realize is after 2019, we had a lot of inexperience. We had a lot of guys leave, and it takes a while. I think offensive line, football is a developmental game. I think offensive line is one of the most developmental positions in the game of football.”

Development was a clear focus when asking Austin about the unit last week, and it’s echoed by his veteran center. This will be Putnam’s fifth year as a Tiger, coming in as a veteran and graduate student at the university. 2022 was his first year playing center, and he earned the right as a leader even in a new position.

During that campaign, he earned third-team All-ACC honors and cemented his place. He wants to be a leader, but he doesn’t plan on changing himself at all to do so, especially with such a familiar unit.

“It’s really just being just being myself, right. And at the end of the day, our goal is to be the best we can be, and I think it’s really just holding guys accountable to that standard,” Putnam said. “With this group, from the amount of hard work guys put in, it’s really not hard to look around the room and be motivated, right, and even for more of a leadership position. I can look at my teammates, and that’s all the motivation I need.”

Putnam discussed the camaraderie the unit has, and says the unit constantly spends time around each other away from the field and that they practically live together. Leadership can normally be a process, but the connection Putnam has built with his unit makes it easy for him and sets the group up for a strong season in 2023.