Swinney Sees Some Good and Bad In Clemson's First Scrimmage of Spring; Updates Injuries
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The Clemson Tigers held their first scrimmage of the spring on Wednesday.
Afterward, head coach Dabo Swinney met with the media, noting that while he saw a lot of good from both the offense and the defense, his team still has some things it needs to get cleaned up.
"We had a lot of good on both sides and we had some bad," Swinney said. "Probably the biggest thing defensively was just cost ourselves a few times. Lined up offsides, jumped offsides a couple of times. A couple of discipline things.
"Then offensively, did a lot of good things. Just put the ball on the ground, got the ball knocked out a couple of times after the catch or after the handoff, that's probably the biggest negative."
Over the first couple of weeks of spring practice, the Tigers have been without some key contributors, as some players are still recovering from offseason procedures due to injuries sustained last season.
RB's Will Shipley and Kobe Pace, as well as WR E.J. Williams, have been out all spring. TE Davis Allen has also been limited. On the other side of the ball, the Tigers are still waiting on the returns of DT's Bryan Bresee and Tre Williams.
With so many players still out, there have been more opportunities for the younger guys, and that's something Swinney thinks will prove to be beneficial in the long run.
"We got a bunch of guys out," Swinney said. "But we were able to put together enough to where we can practice so we can get the guys evaluated that we really need to get to work. So it was a good day. It was a good day and we'll watch the tape and we got a lot to teach from. The biggest thing is they've shown up every day with with with a good mentality and they've been very coachable."
Swinney also updated a couple of injuries after the scrimmage.
- WR Brannon Spector, who has been repping with the first team in the slot, did not take part in Wednesday's scrimmage. No other details were provided.
- Swinney also noted that the staff is hoping to get WR Troy Stellato back after spring break. The redshirt freshman has been out since the first spring practice dealing with a hamstring.
- Swinney also added that LB Sergio Allen should be cleared to return after the spring.
- Swinney also noted that freshman cornerback Jeadyn Lukus will have surgery on his shoulder on Thursday. He will sit out the rest of the spring.
The Tigers, who went 10-3 in 2021 and finished 14th in the final Associated Press Poll, are the fourth team on FanDuel Sportsbook's list to win it all in 2022. Only reigning national champ Georgia (+200), runner-up Alabama (+200) and Ohio State (+800) are ahead of Clemson at +1000.
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