Notebook: Day 3 observations of Clemson’s offense

Clemson resumed fall camp late Monday afternoon with its third practice, the first six periods of which were open to the media. Here are some observations from today’s viewing period:

  • After doing no drills the first two days that involved lateral mobility, backup QB Taisun Phommachanh (Achilles) was involved in some of them. Phommachanh was still held out of the tempo periods, but during individual drills, he rolled out and threw on the run, a sign he continues to progress in his return to full-time action.
  • Speaking of the QBs, D.J. Uiagalelei was particularly accurate during individual drills. During one drill emphasizing pocket awareness, the QBs were instructed to both step up and sidestep dummies before throwing to specific targets on two nets positioned next to each other. Uiagalelei was dead on with both throws.
  • Mason Trotter was again the first center on the field during the tempo periods. Hunter Rayburn repped with the second team there. Guard Matt Bockhorst was in a no-contact jersey for the third straight practice, though he again participated in most of practice during the viewing periods.
  • At one point during individual drills, Bockhorst got vocal as he stood on the side and watched other linemen rep. Bockhorst was adamant that there were something about the linemen’s position that they couldn’t do if they wanted to be effective with a certain call. Offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell calmly corrected Bockhorst, simply saying, “Yes you can.”
  • Freshman RB Will Shipley continued to get reps with the second team during the tempo periods. He even got in with the first team at times. Fellow freshman Phil Mafah also got some second-team reps.
  • Head coach Dabo Swinney corrected some of the receivers on their releases during individual drills. The receivers were working on setting up defensive backs off the line of scrimmage using dummies positioned in front of them, which they weren’t supposed to be running directly at. “Don’t come right at me,” Swinney said as he stood behind one of the dummies. “If you do that, I’m going to jam you.”
  • Expectations for the wideouts are clearly high. Shortly after Ajou Ajou used every inch of his 6-foot-3 frame to extend for a catch along the sideline, Swinney clapped as he walked toward the group. “We touch it, we catch it,” Swinney said.
  • Freshmen receivers Beaux Collins and Tony Stellato were still in yellow jerseys. So was reserve receiver Will Brown.
  • Freshman TE Jake Briningstool was absent.
  • A side note: Former Major Leaguer Darryl Strawberry was watching practice as a special guest. NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was also in town as a guest speaker, though he wasn’t spotted at practice.

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