Evaluating Clemson's Offense, Brandon Streeter Through 1st Quarter of Season
Clemson's players aren't the only ones who needed the first quarter of the regular season to figure out who they are and what they want to be in 2022.
The coaching staff has gone through some of that as well. With Tony Elliott now the head coach at Virginia, Brandon Streeter is in full command of the playcalling and adjustments as the offensive coordinator.
It's something he did at Richmond and Liberty, but that was a decade ago. He led the offense in Clemson's Cheez-It Bowl win last year, but now he's in charge of growing the offense, making in-game adjustments and creating a better product than the team that finished next-to-last in the ACC in total offense in 2021.
"Just like any player that needs experience, it's just been a while since I've been up there and calling plays consistently so you're still trying to get a feel for the pieces of the puzzle too, these first couple of games," Streeter, a longtime QB coach for Clemson, said. "Each game I felt like I've gained more and more confidence in calling the game and making adjustments and then also just having a little bit better tempo each game, too. So really give a shout-out to our coaching staff."
It's just three games against teams Clemson's supposed to beat, but in contests against Georgia Tech, Furman and Louisiana Tech, the No. 5 Tigers have indeed improved upon several key numbers from last year:
- Total yards per game: 425 (359.2 in 2021)
- Points per game: 41.3 (26.3)
- Yards per play: 6.0 (5.2)
- Yards per pass attempt: 7.0 (6.0)
- Yards per rush: 5.1 (4.5)
- Passing TDs per game: 2.0 (0.9)
Yes, it's very early, and the competition hasn't been challenging, but everything seemed to be a struggle last year, no matter who the Tigers played. So these are at least signs of progress.
As Dabo Swinney said after the 48-20 win over Lousiana Tech, the Tigers aren't having to manufacture plays, yards and points the way they did last year. It's coming more naturally through the offense. In large part, that's due to quarterback DJ Uiagalelei being more accurate and giving his receivers, who are trying to greatly improve themselves, more opportunities to catch the ball.
"He's done a really good job, he and the staff, of putting (the players) in position to be successful and just growing," Swinney said about Streeter. "Guys are getting better and I'm starting to see some confidence and you know we've got an inexperienced group of receivers that are gaining a ton of confidence and as that continues to grow with the combination of what we have at tight end and those running backs, we can be a really good group."
That's how Swinney is evaluating Streeter's performance thus far. As long as the players are in the right place, getting a chance to make plays and everything isn't forced or difficult, then Streeter is doing the job he's assigned.
"Coming into (the Louisiana Tech) game we'd had 24 drives and scored on 12 which is good and we had three that you just say OK, man, wish we'd call that different or defense kind of had us, really wasn't there," Swinney said. "That's good. You're going to have some of that, but we had nine possessions that we as I say 'lost to Clemson' and that's where we got to kind of grow and I thought we got better (against Louisiana Tech), even though we left probably another 100-plus yards out there on just a few plays that were a little off that we missed."
Obviously, there are still holes. The passing game is leaving a few plays off the stat sheet. The offensive line is a work in progress. The run game is the most productive aspect of this team, but it hasn't really been featured yet.
It's a process and not an elite product at this time. Much of those numbers show improvement, but they aren't ranked among the best in the nation or even the ACC.
The competition level is about to increase. The Tigers head to Winston-Salem, N.C., on Saturday for a noon kickoff against No. 21 Wake Forest. No. 12 NC State and that stout defense come to Clemson on Oct. 1.
There are still games to be played against Florida State, Notre Dame and Miami, among others. The Tigers' success from the last three games will be greatly tested, and how far this offense goes will directly affect the program reaching its goals for 2022, including regaining the ACC crown and being in the mix for a College Football Playoff appearance once again.
"You know we're very much a work in progress but we're getting better and I thought we closed the gap a little bit (against La. Tech)," Swinney said. "We just got to keep building, and when you hit a little bad stretch you just got to keep fighting through it."
This year's offense at least seems more built to fight than last year's.
Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw, recruiting analyst Jason Priester and staff writer Will Vandervort on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today!
