Dabo Swinney Still Looking for Consistency in Three-Man Center Race
Clemson accomplished a lot in fall camp and laid the foundation for the 2021 season.
The Tigers didn't, however, solve one of the fiercest and most important position battles on the team: starting center.
"It's still a work in progress," No. 3 Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said last week. "I think all of them have done some good things. The biggest thing is consistency. All three physically can get the job done, and I think all three mentally can get the job done. But consistency with our snaps, that's the area we've got to make strides in."
The "three" Swinney is referring to are Mason Trotter, Hunter Rayburn and Matt Bockhorst. The most intriguing name among that group is Bockhorst, who was the offensive line's starting left guard last season.
Trotter and Rayburn have spent years learning the position, but exchange issues with the quarterback in practices and scrimmages have left Swinney wondering if it'll take until the Sept. 4 opener against the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs to determine his No. 1 center.
"It possibly could," Swinney said after the final scrimmage wrapped up and ended Clemson's fall camp. "We'll start honing into the personnel and how we want to rep. Anything could happen. Still have to practice well. Nobody is entitled to be the starter. Still have to go earn it every day and continue to earn it."
The Tigers have a whole extra week before game week to get ready for the trip to Charlotte, N.C., so Swinney will not just be looking for a starter but also the top backup to "get ready to go play."
"You've got to be 100 percent, 99.9999 percent when it comes to the "quarterback-center) exchange," Swinney said. "That's an area we've really got to hone in on and improve coming out of camp."
One of the reasons Bockhorst has gotten into the competition is because of the emergence of true freshman Marcus Tate at guard. The coaches feel like he can give them real production as a starter, so Bockhorst might end up at center out of necessity to play Tate.
Meanwhile, for some folks, it might be unsettling to not have a true starter in place at the genesis of each offensive play. It could also be concerning that Trotter and Rayburn have yet to find the consistency they need to win the job despite multiple years in the program for each lineman.
It says a lot that Trent Howard, a redshirt freshman who isn't in the battle for No. 1, has been the most consistent with his snaps in the preseason, according to the head coach.
"It's not as much about center for us as it is the best five," Swinney said. "That's really the biggest thing. We'll go from there."
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