Clemson's Venables Focuses on Different Challenge Against South Carolina Offense
One of the reasons Clemson's defense was able to hold high-scoring Wake Forest 17 points below its regular-season average was because of familiarity.
Brent Venables has a long history of shutting down the Dave Clawson offense, no matter the names on the back of the jersey. This week's challenge is quite different. While it's not an offense that's nearly as prolific as what No. Clemson faced last week, it's still drawn the respect of the Tigers' coaches.
Venables has gone up against South Carolina eight times, but he faces some unknowns in terms of scheme and personnel when the Tigers (8-3) visit the Gamecocks (6-5) at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. That starts with quarterback Jason Brown.
"You don't have a lot of data to evaluate him," Venables said. "The more he plays the more comfortable he's getting and becoming. The staff is learning ways to take advantage of his strengths, protect him from whatever weaknesses he might have, put him in a position to be successful and their offense to be successful."
Brown, who transferred from FCS school St. Francis in the offseason, is the third quarterback after Zeb Noland and Luke Doty to start and win a game for South Carolina this season.
Venables said the 6-foot-3 Brown "stands tall in the pocket" and is a dual-threat player. Brown has completed 58.4 percent of his passes on the season and has averaged 8 yards per attempt over the last three games, all starts.
"I think they're doing a really good job being (down) to the third-string quarterback," Venables said. "I think he's probably exceeding everyone's expectations because I like what I've seen from him."
Receiver Josh Vann, who has become the team's top receiver with 39 catches for 641 yards and five touchdowns, is also a new matchup for Venables as he had just 10 catches last season and has never recorded a stat against Clemson.
However, Venables knows what he'll see at running back, the strength of South Carolina's offense. Stopping the run on early downs will be the key for the Clemson defense. The Gamecocks are ranked 108th nationally in third-down conversions, so Venables wants to keep their backs from getting going, moving the chains and also producing the chunk yards.
"As a football junkie, I love how they run the ball," Venables said. "They run with attitude. They run with toughness. They run with desperation. They can catch the ball in space. They can run through trash, can really accelerate and they can take the top off the defense."
His concern starts with ZaQundre White, a redshirt senior who's rushed for 561 yards and has averaged an impressive 6.9 yards per carry. Kevin Harris, last year's leading rusher, has 462 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Those two have also combined to catch 25 passes this year.
"Those guys are playing well and have been all year when they've been healthy," Venables said. "It's a really good complimentary group."
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