Clemson Tigers' PFF Grades and Snap Counts From Their Week 3 Comeback Win Over North Carolina

This past Saturday, the Clemson Tigers overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to pull off an intense comeback win over North Carolina and head coach Bill Belichick, 28-20, in their ACC opener.

That said, let’s take a look at the PFF grades for each player who saw action yesterday; snap counts will be in parentheses next to the player grades.

Offense

QB Tait Reynolds: 72.7 (72)
RB Gideon Davidson: 68.6 (62)
TE Christian Bentancur: 67.9 (34)
C Harris Sewell: 67.4 (72)
LT Brayden Jacobs: 64.7 (72)
TE Olsen Patt-Henry: 63.8 (54)
WR T.J. Moore: 62.9 (63)
RT Collin Sadler: 62.8 (49)
RB Jarvis Green: 59.5 (7)
WR Tyler Brown: 59.3 (44)
WR Bryant Wesco Jr.: 58.2 (63)
WR JuJu Preston: 57.7 (13)
RB Chris Johnson Jr.: 57.5 (3)
RG Ronan O’Connell: 57.0 (38)
RG Grant Wise: 56.6 (34)
WR Tristan Smith: 56.4 (5)
RT Easton Ware: 55.9 (23)
WR Chris Denson: 55.5 (2)
WR Gordon Sellars III: 54.9 (10)
OG Elyjah Thurmon: 54.6 (72)

As in recent weeks, the Tigers started extremely slow offensively, totaling just 49 yards and three points over the first five drives. However, they came alive in the second half, totaling 22 points and over 250 total yards.

Heading forward, one thing we know for certain is that Clemson has found its quarterback in true freshman Tait Reynolds, who completed 69% of his passes for 215 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He added 26 yards on the ground en route to earning 247Sports’ True Freshman of the Week honors.

Sophomore running back Gideon Davidson also broke out against the Tar Heels, carrying the ball 16 times for a career-high 105 yards and one touchdown, the first of his young career. Redshirt sophomore Jarvis Green served as the backup and impressed in limited action outside of a fumble, earning five touches for 22 yards. Last week, SMU transfer Chris Johnson Jr. had his best game of the year, and it looked like he’d see the field more, but he struggled across just three offensive snaps, totaling zero yards on two carries.

The offensive line looked its best yet this season, totaling 186 rushing yards on 36 carries (5.2 yards per attempt). The line struggled early, managing just 41 rushing yards in the first half, but turned in an entirely different performance after the break. The standout of the group was true freshman Grant Wise, who took over at right guard for redshirt sophomore Ronan O'Connell after halftime. Wise saw limited action back in Week 2, but given how he played Saturday, don't be surprised if his role keeps growing, regardless of his PFF grade.

We don’t need to speak much about the wide receivers, as Clemson boasts some of the best talent in the country at the position with the duo of T.J. Moore and Bryant Wesco Jr., who combined for 12 receptions and 115 yards. Tyler Brown also performed well, catching two balls for 24 yards while adding a 34-yard rushing touchdown that essentially sealed the game. Although it would’ve been smarter to just go down at the one-yard line and end the game, considering there was one minute left in the contest.

Tight end Olsen Patt-Henry was primarily used for blocking, and he looked the best he had all season while doing it. The fourth-year player finished the contest with two catches for 28 yards. While Christian Bentancur was used in a similar role, he created a spark for the offense in the third quarter, capping off a 92-yard drive with a 27-yard touchdown, finishing the game with two catches for 35 yards and one score. It would be extremely surprising if offensive coordinator Chad Morris doesn’t open up the playbook to utilize his tight ends more, as the offense clearly excels when he does choose to.

Moving forward, I expect Green to keep seeing more touches as the backup running back. The rotation behind Davidson seems to change weekly, but after being a non-factor this past weekend, it's hard to see head coach Dabo Swinney giving Johnson Jr. more work. I also expect much more of Wise at right guard, as mentioned, and it wouldn't be surprising if the team keeps rotating Collin Sadler and Easton Ware at right tackle, as Ware and Wise looked like a solid pairing on the right side of the line.

Defense

DE Will Heldt: 77.2 (51)
CB Elliot Washington II: 76.5 (51)
LB Fletcher Cothran: 75.2 (15)
DE Jahiem Lawson: 73.3 (47)
CB Ashton Hampton: 72.5 (67)
CB Branden Strozier: 72.3 (22)
DT Vic Burley: 67.9 (9)
DL Caden Story: 67.5 (2)
DE Darien Mayo: 67.3 (27)
DE London Merritt: 66.5 (33)
LB Kobe McCloud: 66.2 (7)
S Corey Myrick: 65.1 (67)
S Kylon Griffin: 63.5 (4)
CB Misun Kelley: 63.4 (11)
S Jerome Carter III: 61.4 (68)
CB Corian Gipson: 61.3 (2)
DT Dietrick Pennington: 60.0 (1)
DT Andy Burburija: 59.4 (34)
S Ronan Hanafin: 59.3 (60)
DT Amare Adams: 59.1 (32)
DT Devarrick Woods: 57.5 (20)
LB Jeremiah Alexander: 57.5 (41)
DT Champ Thompson: 53.8 (32)
LB CJ Kubah-Taylor: 51.8 (6)
LB Sammy Brown: 49.5 (61)

Yet again, the secondary came to play against the Tar Heels in Week 3, allowing quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. to complete just 13-of-30 passes for 135 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Not to mention, the only reason the Wisconsin transfer even recorded a touchdown was due to Elliot Washington II — who recorded the game-winning interception — slipping on a flat route.

While the entire secondary was locking the Tar Heels down, the most noticeable takeaway from the snap count is starting nickelback Corian Gipson getting just two snaps. There hasn’t been much clarity on why, but the only understandable reason is due to an undisclosed injury he suffered, so it’s certainly something to pay attention to heading into Week 4.

As you can tell, starting linebackers Sammy Brown and Jeremiah Alexander graded out as some of the worst players on the defense. While that looks bad at first glance, it appears the real culprit was poor play from the interior defensive line. At times, the backers frequently overcommitted due to a lack of physicality up front, as evidenced by the 214 rushing yards and 5.5 yards per carry the Tar Heels totaled in the contest. Still, the starting duo combined for 19 tackles, 1.5 for a loss and one sack.

Yet again, though, former walk-on Fletcher Cothran stood out, totaling two tackles and one forced fumble, which landed in the red zone, in just 15 snaps. Over the past three weeks, the fifth-year linebacker has consistently graded out as one of the best defensive players on the field, and the tape backs it up. Expect to see him much more throughout the season.

While we already mentioned how dominant North Carolina's rushing offense was, it wasn't because the defensive ends failed to set the edge. Both the starters and backups held up well, especially Will Heldt, who logged two tackles for a loss and two sacks in the contest.

Instead, it was the defensive tackle room that was the primary culprit. It's been a common occurrence over the past three weeks for the interior to underperform, and while injuries to multiple players at the position have hurt the group even further, none of the starters or backups have stepped up to fill the void. The Tar Heels consistently targeted them, utilizing different interior zone and power concepts that they saw success with throughout the contest. At the end of the day, this room simply needs to improve, or it won't be the last time opposing offenses target it.

However, one player from the room stood out: Vic Burley. The redshirt junior was initially put on suspension by Swinney after being arrested by Clemson Police in late August. Weeks later, he was reinstated and was scheduled to make his debut this past weekend against the Tar Heels, which he did. While he only played nine snaps, he looked like the best defensive tackle the Tigers have in stock and even recorded a fumble recovery.

Heading into Week 4 against Cal, I expect to see a bit more of Cothran and Burley, as both executed well in limited action. And honestly, Burley’s experience and play, in my opinion, should be enough to at least be considered for a starting role, but since it's only his first week back, I don't really expect Swinney to hand him that job, given how his season started.

We also still don't know what's going on with Gipson, but there's a possibility we'll see more of Misun Kelley at nickelback, depending on the severity of the injury.

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