Clemson recorded its second win of the season on Saturday, but now the ninth-ranked Tigers have a quick turnaround to prepare for their first road game against their first ACC opponent.
Co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliot and various players from both sides of the ball answered questions about the victory over Appalachian State and the preparation for Thursday’s game at Louisville.
Here is what we heard:
Elliot has been impressed with a couple of second and third string players, and he mentioned some are pushing for more playing time. Specifically, he mentioned Jay Guillermo at center, Kelly Bryant at quarterback, and Ray Ray McCloud II at receiver.
“I think Ray Ray is a guy who can push for more snaps to help Artavis,” Elliot said.
Although Louisville has lost both of its first two games, the Tigers are not taking them lightly. They are going into the game with the mindset that the cardinals should be 2-0.
“They’re very athletic and very well coached. They’re going to be fired up to play against us. They’re a great team,” Quarterback Deshaun Watson said. “They’re going to come fired up Thursday night and they’re playing at home, so we’ve got to bring our ‘A’ game.”
Watson broke a bone in his hand in the first quarter against Louisville last season, so he appreciates having the opportunity to play them again.
“Each week we’ve got to come ready to play because we’re going to get everybody’s best and this Thursday is going to be a fun one.”
Offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain agreed with Watson and mentioned that Clemson will have to play in a tough atmosphere when the team travels to Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
“Their fans are going to be bringing it. They traveled very well to Clemson last year, so I can only imagine the excitement and enthusiasm they’re going to have. Our goal as an offense is to make sure that stadium is very quiet by the end of the game,” Mac Lain said.
When Clemson faces its first ACC opponent, the Tigers will be going up against a stronger defense. Although the Cardinals have some new faces on the defense, Elliot does not think there are a lot of differences from last year’s team.
“You don’t see a whole lot of different numbers, but their body-types are very similar,” Elliott said. “They’re aggressive. They’re fast. They’re physical, so it’s going to be a good challenge for our guys.”
Although Elliot was complimentary of Louisville’s defense, he mentioned he has full confidence in freshman offensive lineman Mitch Hyatt’s ability to be successful against a stronger group because he had to play against Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd all fall camp.
“I think these guys are going to be a challenge. Very good players, but I don’t know if he’ll see anything he hasn’t seen on the practice field.
Starting safety Jayron Kearse believes Clemson’s defense can repeat their performance from last year’s game against Louisville when they held them under 300 total yards and had a goal line stand at the end to win the game.
“I think we are definitely in a good place to go do it again,” Kearse said. “Our offense is working hard to make some corrections from last week, and the defense is working hard to make corrections from last week.”