CLEMSON — Harris Sewell is not going to lie. When he woke up last Saturday, it him.

“It was surreal,” the freshman said. “I am starting against Notre Dame today.”

Sewell started and played 72 snaps against the Irish, a week after not seeing the playing field at all against NC State.

What changed?

Injuries.

Clemson left guard Marcus Tate went down with a knee injury in practice last Tuesday. When that happened, offensive line coach Thomas Austin had to do some shuffling.

The Tigers (5-4, 2-4 ACC) were already dealing with the likely hood left tackle Collin Sadler was not going to play either after injuring his lower leg on the last series at NC State.

With Sadler out, Austin moved Tristan Leigh back to left tackle after playing all of the NC State game at right guard. He moved Trent Howard over to left guard to replace Tate and he brought Sewell, a true freshman, back to right guard.

Sewell played 62 snaps against Wake Forest before dropping to 17 against Miami and then not playing against NC State at all. However, the Tigers needed him against the Irish, as he made his first career start.

“I was confident going into it,” the freshman said. “I knew they were very physical and very well coached. But I knew going into it that I was very confident.

“I know I go against one of the best defenses in the country every day, so that also brought me a lot of confidence going into it.”

It also helped that Clemson was playing Notre Dame. Sewell admitted, seeing the gold helmets and with all of their history and traditions, making your first start against the Irish brought a little extra juice.

“Definitely! It was a big game, a big challenge,” the offensive lineman said. “I would say it definitely brought a bunch of juice, but honestly, I think I would bring the same juice every game no matter who it is.”

Sewell brought enough juice to help the Tigers run for 176 yards, as he helped open gapping holes for running back Phil Mafah to run through. Clemson averaged 4.1 yards per carry, while Mafah ran for 186 yards on 36 carries and scored two touchdowns.

It also helped that Austin went with a more basic blocking scheme, which played to Sewell’s strengths and eliminated a lot of the pulling and trapping stuff they were doing before.

“We just kinda stuck with the basics and it was working,” Sewell said. “So, I think, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We just kept doing it and it kept working.

“We just kept running that and it made things simpler. I would say it helped.”

They will see if it helps again this Saturday when the Tigers host Georgia Tech at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon and will be televised by ABC.

–photo by Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

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