CLEMSON — When Chad Morris was the offensive coordinator for Clemson the first time around, he was known for taking shots downfield.
His Clemson offenses were known for being explosive, as his teams set every passing record for careers, seasons, games and plays in the program’s storied history.
Seeing Tajh Boyd uncork a deep ball to Sammy Watkins or DeAndre Hopkins was the norm. Hopkins set the Clemson record for career touchdown catches, while Watkins tied it a year later.
As for Boyd, he set the ACC record for touchdown passes in a career.
“Tajh Boyd was probably as good of a vertical thrower that I have been a part of, so we have put a heavy emphasis on it,” Morris said.
Morris, of course, is back in Clemson to run Dabo Swinney’s offense and part of what he is bringing back in the Clemson offense is its vertical passing game. Morris said when he was hired back in January that he plans to take at least three deep throws a quarter – that’s right, three in a quarter.
To do that, he has to have the playmakers to make it happen. He has the wide receivers in Bryant Wesco and T.J. Moore to get it done.
The question is, does he have a quarterback that can get it to them?
Christopher Vizzina, Tait Reynolds, Chris Denson, Trent Pearman and Brock Bradley are all vying to be the Tigers’ next quarterback, which right now it appears Vizzina has separated himself from the pack.
However, from the sound of the things, whoever wins the job in the summer is the guy who can throw the deep ball the best.
“We are working on that, that is something we have to continue to stress through the course of the summer,” Morris said.
Though the Tigers have tried to be more consistent with the deep ball in practice, they have had their hands tied a little. Both Wesco and Moore have been on the shelves for the most part this spring, as they recover from injuries and post-season surgery.
Wesco has played in a green jersey since spring practices began last month, while Moore was upgraded to a green jersey after the team got back from spring break. A green jersey means players can participate in individual drills but cannot be tackled.
“It will be really good, though when we get our guys back and get everybody back healthy, so we can really work on that timing,” Morris said. “So, yeah, that will be a huge emphasis this summer, as well.”
Clemson hosts its annual Orange & White Spring Game on Saturday at 1 p.m.