Clemson Football: Players to watch in the Gator Bowl
No. 22 Clemson wraps up their season on Friday with a TaxSlayer Gator Bowl appearance against Kentucky out of the SEC. After a tumultuous start to the season, the Tigers have found their flow, winning four straight games to finish the regular season and taking out two ranked teams, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
Against Kentucky, the Tigers will be forced to be physical as Kentucky is led by Ray Davis, a second-team All-SEC running back who found the endzone 20 times in the regular season. Here are the players to watch for Clemson on Friday.
Freshman wide receiver Tyler Brown has been Clemson's go-to guy for big plays.
Barrett Carter - LB
Clemson will be without two of its three leading tacklers against Kentucky. Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is off to the NFL Draft and safety Andrew Mukuba is now a Texas Longhorn. Carter announced his return earlier this month and the impact of that decision will be felt immediately. He'll need to communicate the defensive calls for the youngsters that are stepping up and make sure guys are filling their gaps against Kentucky's power run scheme.
TJ Parker - DE and Wade Woodaz - OLB
As mentioned above, Kentucky is a football team that relies heavily on the running game. Parker and Woodaz will need to be sound for Clemson in this one, setting the edge and not getting washed up by the offensive line. If they get too aggressive in their pursuit up field, Davis will gash the hole they leave. If they can hold down their edges and force plays back toward Tyler Davis and Peter Woods on the inside, Clemson should be able to slow down the Wildcats.
Tyler Brown - WR
Beaux Collins is off to Notre Dame, leaving the role as "No. 1" wideout clearly in Tyler Brown's hands. Like Kentucky, Clemson will rely on their bevy of running backs, but the Tigers will look to Brown for big plays and conversions. His ascension to being Clemson's top wideout as a freshman has been something, and he'll look to put an exclamation point on it this Friday.
