After the film review of last weekend’s game versus Wofford, Jay Guillermo and Ryan Norton lobbied offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell to fix their stats.’
That’s right. Offensive linemen have stats, and they want credit for them, too.
“Me and Ryan had to stay after and show him a couple of more knockdowns that I had, because he tried to cut us short a little bit. But I graded out pretty well for my first time back,” Guillermo said.
The redshirt junior center received a 90 for his work against the Terriers.
“There were a couple, few things — towards the end, I started to get a little straight-legged. But, other than that, I felt like I executed very well,” Guillermo said. “I targeted very well. We all did, our whole offensive line, even the young guys.
“I think one of the worst grades we had was in the 80’s. That’s not something you see with a bunch of freshmen in there, so everyone was really impressive.”
More importantly, they helped keep Deshaun Watson on his feet. Saturday’s game against Appalachian State will present a different kind of challenge.
“They’ve got a whole bunch of starters back — their whole defensive side of the ball, Guillermo said. “It’s not going to be a whole lot of different kind of preparation, I would have to say.
The Mountaineer defense is led by a number of talented players, including outside linebacker Kennan Gilchrist, an Abbeville product, and inside linebacker Eric Boggs, who’s from BHP.
When Guillermo’s on the field at center for Clemson, he’ll have to deal with nose tackles Tyson Fernandez (6-2, 320) and Darian Small (6-2, 315).
“These guys are really talented. They move really well. I know their big run-stuffer guy, he’s 300-plus and moves really, really well. It will be a good task for us, so I’m really excited,” Guillermo said.
Guillermo is still listed as the No. 2 center behind Norton. However, Norton is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game because a knee injury he suffered against Wofford. On Tuesday morning, Dabo Swinney said Norton would return to practice that afternoon, but did not say in what kind of capacity he would be available.