Clemson Stock Report: Players Rising and Falling After UNC Win

Clemson football saw major improvements on Saturday afternoon, defeating North Carolina 28-20 at home to open ACC play with a win.

Head coach Dabo Swinney’s group rallied down two touchdowns at a point in the game to start its conference slate with a satisfying win in front of Clemson’s home crowd. Throughout the comeback, plenty of pieces stepped up to contribute to the victory.

In terms of the roster, here are the players who either raised or lowered their stock after their Week 3 win.

Stock Up: QB Tait Reynolds

After the game on Saturday, the true freshman quarterback said the coaching staff encouraged him to “grow up” throughout the game. When the game ended, Reynolds picked up his first win as a starter with moments of maturity.

He finished with 215 yards and a passing touchdown, but he made more of the right reads than that of the ones in his first game with extended time against Georgia Southern. He also added 25 rushing yards while evading North Carolina defenders throughout the contest, just getting better throughout the game with his comfortability.

We knew we were going to learn a lot about the quarterback situation with Clemson in this game, especially without the cushion of having another starting-caliber quarterback to aid Reynolds if it got murky. While it did in the first half, the Tigers have a player who can revitalize this offense in the future with the freshman.

Stock Down: DT Andy Burburija

North Carolina averaged 6.2 yards per carry on Saturday, being the Achilles’ heel for Clemson’s defense throughout the contest. Many of those times, the Tar Heels ran it right through junior Andy Burburija.

The junior-college transfer finished with two total tackles, but a majority of the rest of the defensive tackle play overshadowed him in the win. Other names, like graduate lineman Vic Burley, recovered a fumble in his first game back from suspension.

Heading into Week 4, Clemson still has questions at that position, and there was plenty of opportunity for Burburija to lock down a starting role for the remainder of the season. In my opinion, he hasn’t taken advantage and many other pieces will be returning soon.

Stock Up: RB Gideon Davidson

Davidson exorcised some demons in the win, running for his first 100-yard game and scoring his first touchdown, which was the go-ahead score at the time. The performance was enough for the sophomore to truly cement his spot as the starting running back going forward.

There was more energy with each carry that Davidson brought in the contest, showing that especially in his 10-yard touchdown carry in the fourth quarter. He also averaged 6.6 yards per carry as well behind blocking that was cleaned up in the second half.

Davidson simply brought extra momentum that allowed the Tigers to play more complementary over the course of the game. That will be crucial as Clemson heads out west to play Cal on Friday.

Stock Down: OL Ronan O’Connell

Clemson made a switch in the second half on the offensive line, taking out O’Connell, a starter, while putting in freshman Grant Wise at the right guard position. Swinney raved about the production that the first-year was able to give in the trenches in the game.

For the right side of the line, like O’Connell, it brings him back to the rest of the choices that Swinney could have on the offensive line for the remainder of the season.

The Tigers struggled to run the ball in the first half, which will be the sample size I use here that had the likes of the starters on the right side of the ball in the game. Clemson only recorded 41 yards before erupting in the third and fourth quarters. That’s when the program was able to play more complementary through the air and the ground, and Swinney will need his best offensive line group to do so.

Especially against Cal, it will be interesting to see if Clemson decides to go with the offensive line is has started for the last two games.

Stock Up: LB Fletcher Cothran

Cothran had a pivotal forced fumble in the third quarter in limited action, showing flashes to a room that is still looking for a piece to pair with Sammy Brown.

He had two total tackles, including that fumble on Tar Heels running back Demon June to put the Tigers in the red zone. Although Clemson could only manage a field goal in the next drive, it continued the momentum that the team needed throughout the last 30 minutes of the game.

The former walk-on had plenty of positives in the win, and I’d be expecting to see more of Cothran throughout the remainder of the season if he continues to show his worth.

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