Five Clemson Storylines Heading into Fall Camp

Talking season is over. Hitting season will soon take shape. A look at what to follow during Clemson's fall camp.

There is 100 percent nothing fall about Clemson's camp, which begins Friday. 

However, as the summer heat still reigns, we turn our attention to thoughts of a new season, and actual football will be practiced with the idea of preparing for the Labor Day opener against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. 

Talking season is over. Hitting season will soon take shape, so here are five storylines surrounding Dabo Swinney and the Tigers during the next several weeks of fall camp:

1. Start healthy, stay healthy

Clemson hopes all that bad juju from last year's uncommon season of injuries has been flushed from the program. Bryan Bresee, Will Shipley, E.J. Williams and others should be full-go when the team hits the practice field for the first time Friday afternoon. 

There aren't really any major injury concerns to start, other than freshman receiver Adam Randall, who's still working his way back from a torn ACL in the spring. Now, the Tigers have to keep it that way during grueling practices. Meanwhile, those who did miss a ton of time last year look to shake off the rust, especially since a large portion of the roster sat out during spring ball. 

2. Coaches take off the training wheels

Clemson underwent two major coaching changes in the offseason with former defensive coordinator Brent Venables leaving for the head coaching position at Oklahoma and former offensive coordinator Tony Elliott over the Virginia program. In terms of the scheme, not much is expected to be vastly different. 

Of course, new OC Brandon Streeter and new DC Wes Goodwin will add tweaks and put their own spin on the playcalling and preparation. They showed some of that in the spring when they tried different things and wanted to simplify the scheme. Now that they had an offseason to evaluate, there will be less tinkering and more instillation of what the team will look like this month. It's the coaches' time to shine, develop and build depth as well. 

3. Quarterback competition 

It doesn't sound like there will be much of a QB battle to start fall camp, and that's fine. Freshman Cade Klubnik understands his role for now, and a slimmed-down DJ Uiagalelei is getting the opportunity to show that he's improved from last year's struggles. So while it might not be an all-out duel, how both progress through fall camp is incredibly important. 

Uiagalelei has to show his coaches and teammates that he can be more accurate with his passes and bring back the down-field attack to this offense. Meanwhile, Klubnik is in a position to be the No. 2, and if he increased his knowledge and command of the offense over the summer, he'll find playing time early in the season. That might be where the real battle occurs. It's the key to an extremely successful season. 

4. Avoid the headlines

Clemson's defense is projected to be among the best in college football in 2022. With an all-star cast returning up front, players like Xavier Thomas, Myles Murphy, K.J. Henry and Bresee are getting a ton of attention. And rightfully so. But the key for this group is to make sure they don't act or practice like it. 

If they remain hungry throughout August to be the best, that's exactly what they'll set themselves up to be in September and beyond. The linebackers are as fast as Dabo Swinney's ever had. The secondary has an older Andrew Mukuba, an emerging Nate Wiggins and a veteran in Jayln Phillips. It's all right there for the taking for this defense.

5. Develop an offensive identity 

Clemson didn't really know what it wanted to be in the first half of last season on this side of the ball. It's one of the major reasons the Tigers started 4-3. Everything looked disjointed because of an offensive line that changed every week, a suspect passing game and injuries in the backfield. Eventually, Clemson figured out it was a running team, and after Shipley got healthy, that became the identity and the team finished with six consecutive wins. 

This year, they know the run game will be there. Shipley, Kobe Pace and Phil Mafah are all more than capable of being high-caliber rushers. The offensive line should be greatly improved or at least capable of figuring it out better than last year. The receivers need to get back to what Clemson's used to, but there isn't a proven, NFL-caliber returning pass-catcher on this roster. Can they develop, and stay healthy, enough to contribute right away in 2022 or will it take time throughout the season? 

Clemson is listed at +800 to win the national championship, according to odds on FanDuel Sportsbook. 

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